Rise of DarkMagnamon
by moviefan-92
Summary: Post Season 2. The return of the mythical DarkMagnamon spells disaster for the Digital World. Seeking to revive his master and all the evil Digimon of the past, he proves to be perhaps the greatest threat the Digital World has ever known. The DigiDestined must stop him at all costs, but may have met their match in the corrupt Royal Knight.
1. Chapter 1: The Hidden Temple

**(A/N: This story was a long time in coming. I planned it over 2 years ago, but never got around to writing it. If you don't know who DarkMagnamon is, he's perhaps the most common and most popular fan-made Digimon. I'm actually rather surprised the creators didn't make him an official Digimon, but whatever. You can find fan-art of him online, just type his name in Google. He usually appears as a mirror image to Magnamon, but with black armor instead of gold, and he usually has blue skin, but some artists draw him with black, gray, or dark blue skin. You can look up most information on him on the DigimonWiki. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story, it takes place in the Season 2 universe after the _Revenge of Diaboromon_. Oh, and one more thing, this story has no connection to my other Digimon story. Now lets get started.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**"RISE OF DARKMAGNAMON"**

**Chapter 1: The Hidden Temple**

The land was barren, surrounded by mountains on all sides. No creatures lived in this wasteland; the environment was just not hospitable enough to reside here. There was no food, no water, no greenery of any kind, just rocky terrain.

That wasn't to say that there was no life whatsoever. At the moment, two different creatures were currently passing through. They flew through the air to make the journey faster, the smaller one riding on the larger one's back.

The one doing the actual flying was a dragon-like creature known as Airdramon. Like all of his kind, he was also named after his species, and was a dragon-type Digimon of the Champion level.

Though very large and ferocious looking compared to its much smaller passenger, the one riding on his back was obviously the one in charge. Resembling a cybernetic skeleton with a deadly sickle for his right hand, Reapermon was a Digimon of the Mega level, far outranking Airdramon in strength.

It was common knowledge throughout the Digital World of how Digivolution levels worked. Upon hatching from a Digi-Egg, a Digimon, short for Digital Monster, would be at the Baby level. After getting stronger, it would Digivolve to the In-Training level, followed by Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, Mega, and, in some extremely rare and unique cases, the Super Ultimate level, though most never reached beyond the Champion or Ultimate level.

Of course, there were also alternative and unique levels that weren't as commonly known about, Armor and Mode Changing being prime examples, and not every Digimon of the same level was of equal strength, but, generally, not even a dozen Digimon of one level could defeat even a single Digimon of a higher level.

Case and point, Airdramon was completely subservient to the mighty Reapermon, currently serving as his mode of transportation, even though the Mega level Digimon was capable of flying on his own. But the cyborg skeleton was currently searching for a power even greater than his own. And after countless years of searching and gathering information, he finally had the answers he sought.

Which brought him to this desolate mountain land. If the information he had received was accurate, what he was searching for was here somewhere. And once he found what he was seeking, darkness would return to the Digital World.

"There it is," he said in a scratchy voice. "There's the temple. Take us down."

Wedged between two mountainsides, a lone ancient temple resided in the empty mountain land. Obeying its master's command, Airdramon came in for a landing beside the temple. Impatient after so many years of waiting and wandering, Reapermon leapt off the dragon Digimon's back.

"Finally, after all these years of searching, I now stand before the ancient temple."

As he approached, he paid no mind to the pillars circling around the temple, but upon trying to walk past them, a wall of electricity appeared between them. Reapermon cried out as his body was electrified, and he backed away.

"An impressive defense system," he admitted, noting that the electricity had formed a bubble around the temple, "but I have not come this far to fail now. This will not stop me. Airdramon, come to me!"

The dragon Digimon hesitantly flew over to his side. As he approached, Reapermon suddenly grabbed hold of him and pressed him against the wall of electricity. Airdramon roared as Reapermon forced his way through, using the dragon Digimon as a shield to absorb most of the electricity.

Once they were through, he carelessly dropped the dragon Digimon. Smoking and burned, Airdramon groaned in agony, then went still. His body seemed to break down into particles and scattered in all directions, disappearing. Reapermon merely glanced where the dragon Digimon had been before continuing on his way, simply thinking that he had been wise to bring along a subordinate.

Turning his attention to one of the pillars, he charged at it and struck. From on the inside of the circle, he was able to avoid being electrocuted. The pillar toppled over, and the wall of electricity died down. Satisfied, he continued onward to the temple, heading up the steps.

The door was sealed shut, seemingly carved out of the temple wall rather than being a separate piece that could open and close. On it was a symbol, and Reapermon's eyes lit up as he recognized it. And while most Digimon would have fled in fear, Reapermon looked on in excitement.

Kicking the stone door, he created a hole large enough for him to climb through. Upon entering the temple, he found it to be one large room, completely empty, or so it seemed. But Reapermon knew better. What he sought was hidden away, and he had the means of finding it.

A flight of stairs led to the center of the temple where a stone block rested. Reapermon approached this stone block, and saw the same symbol that had been on the door carved into the side of the stone block.

"You should not be here!" a voice boomed from up above.

Reapermon froze as a figure dropped down from overhead. Before him stood an angel Digimon with large blades for arms and wings that seemed to be made of knives. Though Reapermon had never before met this particular Digimon, he knew who it was from its species.

"SlushAngemon," he sneered. "So you're the one guarding this place. I wondered if someone was. It must have been very boring being here all on your own."

The angel Digimon pointed his arm-blade at him. "Not that it's any of your concern, but I've been in a deep sleep until you set off the alarm."

Reapermon chuckled. "Oh, you mean those electrified pillars? Yes, they were quite a nuisance. I even had to sacrifice my ride in order to get past them."

"You should have stayed away," SlushAngemon told him. "The evil within this temple must not be unleashed. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

Reapermon shook his clawed finger at him. "Oh, but I do. I've been searching for many years. If you think you're going to stop me, then you've got another thing coming."

"I will stop you! I must! It's my duty!"

"Then just try it!"

SlushAngemon accepted his challenge and rushed towards him, swinging his arm-blade. Reapermon's sickle came up and crossed with it. SlushAngemon grunted and stabbed forward with his other arm, but Reapermon's large metal hand closed over it.

"Don't bother. Your puny blades are no match for my Guilty Chain and Judgment Sickle."

He spun around and threw SlushAngemon against the wall. The angel Digimon kicked off it and rushed towards Reapermon again. _"Gold Ripper!"_

Reapermon braced himself as SlushAngemon's blades danced all around. _"Grim Slasher!_"

His Guilty Chain shot out, grabbing SlushAngemon around the neck in the midst of his wild dancing. Reapermon's blade came down to decapitate the angel Digimon, but SlushAngemon crossed his blades over his head, blocking the blow.

"_Blade of the True!"_

He slashed outward with his blades, knocking away Reapermon's sickle and sending out a cross-shaped energy blast in the process. Reapermon cried out as he was blasted backwards, slamming painfully into the wall. SlushAngemon lunged at him, and Reapermon just barely moved his head in time before the angel Digimon's arm-blade buried into the wall.

Ducking under his opponent, the cyborg Digimon twisted out of the way of SlushAngemon's second blade, which also buried in the wall. As he attempted to pull his blades free, Reapermon maneuvered behind him.

"Well now, this is convenient."

SlushAngemon looked back at him. "Wait, stop, you don't know what you're doing!"

"Oh, but I do. _Burning Cyclone!"_

Spinning around, he created a tornado of fire that SlushAngemon was unable to even defend himself against with his arms trapped in the wall. The flaming vortex spun around him, burning everything to ash.

"You fool!" SlushAngemon cried over the sound of the attack. "You'll doom us all!"

They were his last words as his body broke down into data, leaving no trace of him other than the singed stonewall with two holes in it. If Reapermon were capable of grinning, he would have, but instead a gleeful cackle escaped him.

"Good riddance. Now it's time to do what I came here for."

With no further distractions, he returned to the stone block at the top of the stairs. Bending down until he was level with it, He produced a small black square plate with the same symbol on it as the stone block.

Upon holding the object level with the symbol on the stone block, a static shock passed between the two symbols, and the top of the stone block opened to reveal a hidden slot.

"Yes," Reapermon hissed gleefully. "Yes, that's it."

Inside the hidden slot was a small device. It resembled an older model of what had come to be known as a Digivice, used by the DigiDestined, a group of children chosen to save the Digital World by defeating the forces of darkness. Just the thought of those wretched children, no matter which generation it was, caused Reapermon to seethe with fury. If it weren't for them, the forces of darkness would be much farther along than they were right now.

"Time to tip the balance," he said, raising his sickle. _"Bone Duster!"_

With his blade catching fire, he brought it down on the device. Upon smashing it, a beam of black light burst forth, shooting upward. Reapermon backed away and waited eagerly for what he had been searching for to finally reveal itself.

When the light faded, a small creature stood where the remains of the device once rested. Resembling a humanoid dinosaur, or perhaps a rhinoceros, the creature was blue with a white belly and a yellow V mark stamped on its forehead. Red eyes, completely devoid of emotion, blinked open, and the creature glanced around the temple.

Reapermon could scarcely believe what he saw. The stories were true; the legend was real. After so long, his goal was in sight.

The small creature continued looking around with a scowl on its face before its gaze landed on Reapermon. "Where am I?"

Reapermon tried to contain his excitement. "Great Destroyer, it is an honor to finally meet you. I have searched long and hard for you for centuries. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Reapermon, and, like you, I am a loyal minion of the Masters."

There was no emotional response from the creature Reapermon had referred to as the Great Destroyer. "The Masters? Yes, the great ones. Where are they? It has been so long."

Reapermon hesitated. "Um, yes, it has been long, much longer than you know since you've been sealed away. I regret to inform you that the Masters have fallen. They've either been destroyed, or have been sealed away."

There was still no reaction from the blue Digimon as it simply replied, "Impossible. The Masters cannot be defeated."

"We all thought so as well, but I'm afraid it's true. They were beaten long ago. Their armies were defeated, and they're remaining forces have scattered across the Digital World. Some have attempted to rule in their place, others have tried to resurrect them, but so far all attempts have ended in failure."

The Great Destroyer was silent for a moment. "Even… _my_ master?"

Reapermon knew of whom he spoke. "Regretfully, yes, your master too. Not that he didn't put up a fight. Unfortunately, he fell to the DigiDestined, a group of children and their chosen Digimon partners that had been selected to combat the forces of darkness. They've proven to be a real nuisance. Not only did they manage to defeat four of the Masters' greatest generals, but also the mighty Apocalymon."

Though the little Digimon still showed no emotion, there was now a flame of rage burning in its eyes. "If the Masters have been destroyed, they'll have reverted to their Digi-Eggs, and those that fight for the light will make sure they never rise to power like they did before."

"Yes," Reapermon regretfully agreed, "that has been the case. But there is still hope, Great Destroyer. Now that you have returned, we can use this to resurrect them."

He held out the smack black square plate he had used to open the stone block. The smaller Digimon looked at it curiously. "The Crest of Desolation."

"Indeed. It has been kept with those still loyal to the Masters. With this and your power, we can bring them all back to their full strength. No, even more powerful than before! And not just them, but _all_ those that fight for the darkness."

Reaching out, the small blue hand took the Dark Crest from him. "To do so, I would need to regain my true power. I must find it."

Reapermon chuckled. "Oh, not to worry. I know exactly where it is. Ironically, it's currently in the possession of the DigiDestined. And they don't even know they have it. But I have a plan on how we can get it from them. We can't take it by force though, so we'll have to be crafty. If you're willing to follow my plan, you'll be at your full power soon enough."

The Great Destroyer stared at the Crest in his palm for a few moments before its hand closed over it. "Very well. What is your plan?"

**(A/N: There's the first chapter. I think it's fairly obvious who the Great Destroyer is, and which Digimon he is too. But what is the Crest of Desolation, and what is the Great Destroyer's source of power that the DigiDestined supposedly have? If you know about DarkMagnamon, then you probably know who his master is, but who are these other Masters? So many questions. By the way, does anyone know why they decided to call him SlushAngemon rather than leaving it as SlashAngemon, or even GuardiAngemon, as it was translated in Digimon World 3 for PlayStation? Either one sounds better than "Slush". It almost makes me regret deciding to use the dubbed names. Also, I got Reapermon from Digimon Rumble Areana. Anyone ever play that? Oh, and don't worry about the shortness of the chapter. They'll get longer as the story progresses.)**


	2. Chapter 2: A Prophecy?

**(A/N: All right. If you're still reading this that means the first chapter turned out better than I thought and you've taken an interest. Sweet. I am sad to say that I'm not too proud of how this chapter turned out, but if you bare with me, I promise things will get a lot better.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 2: A Prophecy?**

While it was true that Yukio Owikawa's sacrifice had indeed repaired the damage done to the Digital World, there was still much work to be done; clean up duty for the most part, and the distraction Armageddemon had presented hadn't helped the situation. Even though all the Control Spires had been knocked down and were no longer functioning, their remains still littered the Digital World and needed to be disposed of. It was a lot of work, but at least the toppled over obelisks didn't cause anymore harm.

At the moment, the DigiDestined and their Digimon partners were piling up the remains of the Control Spires into one big pile. This would make it easier to get rid of them all at once. With the last one piled up, it was time to get rid of the evil structures for good.

"Ok," Davis Motomiya cried to the others, "let 'em have it!"

The partner Digimon of the DigiDestined, along with the others that had come to help, unleashed a series of attacks on the pile. With their evil power gone, the large black obelisks were much easier to destroy, and the combination of attacks completely sent the data the structures were made of scattering in all different directions.

"Perfecto!" Yolei Inoue declared. "And that takes care of this area." She marked it off her map. "We're making good progress. In fact, we're ahead of schedule thanks to all of the native Digimon helping.

"I think everyone is just as eager to get rid of these ugly things as were are," said Cody Hida, "even if they are out of commission."

A short distance away, Ken Ichijouji's fists clenched in aggravation. Though he was a child genius and a super student athlete, he was still vulnerable to the forces of darkness, and it still frustrated him to know that he had caused so much pain and suffering during his reign as the Digimon Emperor, even if he had thought the Digital World was a game and had been manipulated and influenced by MaloMyotismon and the Dark Spore rooted in his neck.

"Since the Control Spires are no longer a threat," he said, "I should be the one cleaning this mess up on my own. I did make it after all."

Davis playfully punched his arm. "Hey, come on, don't start that again. We're a team, remember? And a team sticks together and helps each other."

Stingmon, the Champion level of Ken's Digimon partner, flew down beside him. "You're not to blame, Ken. You were as much a victim as Owikawa, even more so actually."

Ken sighed. "Logically, I know that, but still, I wish I had done things differently."

He shuddered at the memories of how he would abuse and enslave the poor Digimon he would capture. With his Dark Rings and Dark Spirals, he would control their minds and force them to do his bidding by taking away their freewill. He felt the most guilt for what he had done to his Digimon partner, even though he had been forgiven.

"Ken," Davis grumbled, placing a hand on his shoulder, "we've been through this already. You thought the Digital World was some super awesome new virtual reality computer simulation game you were playing. We can all understand wanting to play the role of the villain every now and then. I've done it myself plenty of times. Besides, girls dig the whole 'bad boy' thing, right Kari?"

Hikari Kamiya, called Kari for short, didn't rise to his poor attempt to flirt with her. "I actually prefer a nice guy."

Takeru Takaishi, more commonly known simply as TK, chuckled. "Leave it to Davis to make such a comparison when trying to relieve someone of their guilt."

The others laughed while an irritated look crossed Davis' face. It was all friendly banter anyway; one couldn't find a better group of friends. They shared a rare bond with each other that had gotten them through life and death situations countless times, even enabling them to save both the Real World and the Digital World more than once.

Coming in for a landing, Angewomon, the only Ultimate of the group, set down beside her partner. "So, what's next?"

It was as if Fate itself had been waiting for her to ask, and was now providing them with an answer. From a distance away, the deafening sound of an explosion was heard. It was accompanied by a fiery cloud rising up above the trees that obscured the source of the blast.

The DigiDestined and their Digimon partners all jumped and turned to the source of the disturbance. Smoke rose above the trees from where the explosion took place, the size of the cloud indicating just how big of a blast there had been.

"What was that?" Yolei cried.

"A Digimon battle?" TK suggested. "Hopefully nothing too bad."

"Guys," Cody exclaimed, "isn't there a village in that direction?"

"He's right," Kari gasped. "They may need our help. We better get over there."

Each human climbed up on their Digimon partner's back or shoulder; Davis on ExVeemon, Yolei on Aquilamon, Cody on Ankylomon, Ken on Stingmon, TK on Angemon, and Kari on Angewomon. Then it was a race through the trees and out the other side.

There was indeed a village, as Cody had claimed, or what had once been a village. There was now nothing but a trail of destruction and burning homes, the result of a terrible tragedy.

"What happened here?" Yolei wondered out loud. "And where are all the Digimon?"

"They must have fled to escape from the fire," sad Ken, "or from whatever caused this."

"What _did_ cause this?" TK asked. "Anyone see anything?"

Davis shook his head. "Nothing. Looks like whoever did this is long gone. Whatever happened here, it seems like we missed it."

"We should still look around," Ken suggested. "Someone could be hurt or trapped."

But there was no one around. They couldn't even determine if anyone had died since there were no bodies around. Since they were made up of data, when a Digimon perished, their bodies broke down. Their data was then reconfigured, and they reformed as a Digi-Egg, the lowest level in the Digivolution line, containing only their core data.

Still, they searched for anyone that might still be around, and it just so happened that there was. They burst up from beneath a pile of burned rubble, coughing and sputtering, covered head to toe in soot.

"Guys, over here!" Kari called, having been the one to discover the shaken villager.

As the others rushed over, ExVeemon took particular interest in the Digimon's species. "Hey, look, another me."

The Digimon in question was, in fact, the Rookie level of his current form, Veemon. With the inability to reproduce, Digimon would instead copy their data to create more of their kind. It was the only way knew Digimon could be born, although during some rare instances, new Digimon were born from the accumulation of data, as had been the case with Apocalymon, or from the lingering data of other Digimon after they were destroyed. But copying aside, Veemons were still a rather rare breed of Digimon that weren't encountered all that often.

Hopping off ExVeemon's shoulder, Davis went to the Digimon in Kari's arms as she cleaned the soot off him. "Hey, little guy, you ok?"

Groaning, the Veemon cracked open his eyes. Blinking a few times, he looked up at them. "Humans…? In the Digital World…? But… how…?"

Davis proudly thumped his chest. "We're the DigiDestined."

The Veemon stared at him with hooded eyes. "The Digi…Destined…?" His eyes suddenly snapped wide open and he hopped out of Kari's arms. "The DigiDestined! But if you're here, then that means that the prophecy is true!"

TK blinked. "Prophecy? What prophecy?"

There was no longer any sign of pain or exhaustion in the Veemon as he became overwhelmed with excitement, ignoring his various cuts and scraps. "There's a prophecy in our village. It states that a great catastrophe will one day fall upon our village in the form of a powerful evil Digimon, and only the golden one, summoned by the angels will be able to save us."

Cody looked around at the destroyed village. "I'd say this definitely qualifies as a catastrophe."

"And it was an evil Digimon that did it. He came and destroyed everything." He grabbed ExVeemon's hand and tugged. "And you're the only one who can help us. If the part of the prophecy about the great catastrophe was true, then the second part about our salvation must be as well. Only the golden armored one can stop this."

ExVeemon sweat-dropped. "Um, sorry to break it to you, pal, but I'm blue, not gold, and I haven't got any armor on either."

"No!" the Veemon raged. "You do. We've all heard the stories of how you became the golden armored one to stop that freak Digimon the Digimon Emperor unleashed."

Ken winced, remembering how he had created Kimeramon from the data taken from other Digimon, his own personal Frankenstein monster. He'd been so foolish to think that he could control such a powerful and destructive creature.

"Oh, so that's what he means," said TK. "He's talking about Magnamon."

"Please!" the Veemon begged. "You have to stop him, otherwise he won't stop until he destroys everything we hold dear."

"Not on my watch!" Davis announced. "We'll teach this big bad Digimon a lesson."

"Do you know which way he went?" Kari asked.

The Veemon grinned. "Yeah, I can show you. But does that mean that you'll help my village?"

"It's kind of what we do," Cody told him. "Right, Ankylomon?"

"That's right. Just leave it to us."

The Veemon began jumping up and down. "Oh, thank you, thank you! I'll be forever in your debt." He turned his back on them, a wicked gleam shining in his eye. "Follow me."

**(A/N: Ok, I admit, it's not the best start to the story. It feels like it happened too quickly and wasn't well thought out, but I could not come up with anything other than what I got. I'm really not pleased with how this chapter turned out, but I promise it will get better. Things may seem rather predictable right now, but that's just for now. And don't forget that we as readers know more than the DigiDestined, so if things they seem gullible right now, that's just because we know more than they do. And now we've got this mysterious prophecy thrown into the mix. It's not the first time a prophecy has appeared in the series. Lets see how things go from here.)**


	3. Chapter 3: Fiery Destruction

**(A/N: Ok, if you're still here, that means my horribly written last chapter hasn't chased you away. This chapter's got better writing and a longer length. We're also getting we're getting into a bit of action. Lets see what kind of trouble the DigiDestined are getting into.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 3: Fiery Destruction**

Following the Veemon's lead, the DigiDestined and their Digimon were led down a trail of destruction from the village. From all the fires they came across, it could be determined that the Digimon that caused all this was a fire-type, or at the very least used fire-based attacks. And from the amount of destruction, it was most likely an Ultimate or Mega, though it could have been a very large Champion.

They questioned the Veemon about who the evil Digimon was, but only received vague answers in return. The Veemon insisted that he hadn't seen the Digimon himself before his house had collapsed on him, but that he had heard his fellow villagers screaming that the prophecy was coming true while he was trapped beneath the rumble of his destroyed home.

"Then how will we know when we run into the evil Digimon if he's the one or not?" Davis asked.

"He'll probably be the one destroying everything," Aquilamon pointed out.

As if on cue, a tornado of fire rose up from father ahead. It only lasted for a few seconds, but several smaller explosions were heard coming from around the base of the flaming vortex.

"Whoa!" Yolei cried. "I'd say that counts as a sign."

TK's fists clenched at the thought of more meaningless destruction. "We're catching up. Lets stop this thing before he hurts anyone else."

They continued onward, and finally came to an area that had been cleared out by the fire. The ground was bare and burned, the land completely destroyed. And in the middle of it all was a robot skeleton, relishing in the destruction that had been caused.

The Veemon pointed at him. "That's him! He's he evil Digimon that destroyed my village; I just know it!"

The Digimon turned to the newcomers and chuckled. "Well, well, what do we have here? More friends for me to play with?"

Davis shook his fist in the air. "We're no friends of yours! Did you cause all this destruction?"

"Beautiful, is it not? I just love watching things burn. There is nothing I find more appealing."

Kari looked horrified. "That's awful! Just who do you think you are?"

"I am Reapermon, a Mega level cyborg Digimon. My _Burning Cyclone_ attack will pull in my surroundings and reduce everything to ash."

The Veemon pointed at him again. "You're gonna pay for destroying my village, you fiend! The prophecy shall be fulfilled!" He turned to the DigiDestined. "Bring forth the golden one!"

Davis gave him a thumbs up. "You've got nothing to worry about. We got this. Go get him, ExVeemon!"

Though only a Champion, he fearlessly went to face down the Mega. "Lets see how you handle this. _Vee-Laser!"_

The X-shaped beam flew from the mark on his chest. Reapermon lashed out with his sickle, cutting the beam in half and causing it to disperse.

"Whoa," ExVeemon muttered, "he handled that pretty well."

Reapermon was suddenly in the air in front of him. _"Grim Slasher!"_

His chain flew out, grabbing ExVeemon and pulling him forward, then his sickle sliced through the air, striking him down from the sky as it cut across the blue Digimon's chest.

"Here's a going away present for you," Reapermon told him as he fell.

His large metal foot came down, sending ExVeemon crashing to the ground.

"ExVeemon!" Davis shouted. "You ok?"

A groan came from the crash sight. "Sure… never better…"

The Veemon's fists clenched. "What are you doing? You need to summon the golden one!" He looked at the others. "Don't just stand there, do something!"

"Right," said Angemon. "Lets get him. _Hand of Fate!"_

Stingmon, Aquilamon, and Angewomon followed up with their own attacks.

"_Moon Shooter!"_

"_Blast Rings!"_

"_Celestial Arrow!"_

Their attacks flew towards Reapermon, who did nothing to avoid them, and they exploded against his body.

"My turn," Ankylomon declared. _"Tail Hammer!"_

He leapt into the air, swinging his tail to hit the target in the cloud of smoke. But before he could land the blow, Reapermon's mechanical hand shot out of the cloud and grabbed the dinosaur Digimon's tail.

Ankylomon gulped. "Well, that's not good."

The smoke cleared further to reveal Reapermon to be unharmed. "You call that an attack? I'll show you an attack."

He swung Ankylomon around and then dropped from the sky, slamming him into the ground. Chuckling, he turned to the humans and held up his sickle. "We have no need for your kind. _Bone Duster!"_

He brought his sickle down, the tip striking the ground. Blazing trails of fire shot out in different directions, each one heading for a different DigiDestined.

With the exception of ExVeemon and Ankylomon, the other Digimon rushed towards their human friends and pulled them out of harm's way. They set them down at a safer spot as ExVeemon lifted himself out of the crater his impact had created, clutching the cut on his chest.

"Hey, Stingmon, lets show this guy some Paildramon power."

"Sounds good to me," Stingmon agreed, and flew over to him.

Davis and Ken's Digivices shined brightly as their partner Digimon drew strength from them.

"_ExVeemon!"_

"_Stingmon!"_

"_**DNA**__ Digivolve to… Paildramon!"_

The newly fused Ultimate level appeared. Reapermon turned to him as the two in one Digimon raised the guns on his hips. _"Desperado Blaster!"_

Bullets went flying. Reapermon held up his arms to shield himself, and the bullets ricocheted off his metal body.

"_Bone Duster!"_

He struck the ground, and a trail of fire raced towards Paildramon. He took to the air, but the fire followed him, going straight up as if lighting up a trail of gasoline. Angemon quickly flew up and into the path of the fire. He began spinning his staff, deflecting the flames, yet they kept coming.

Reapermon chuckled, but his laughter was cut short as Aquilamon's talons latched onto his shoulders, and his control over the fire wavered.

Angewomon raised her arms. _"Holy Air!"_

A ring of energy appeared around Reapermon, holding him in place. Paildramon flew back down towards him, the spikes on his wrists extending into lances.

"_Sting Strike!"_

With a burst of strength, Reapermon broke free of Angewomon's attack. His hand reached up and pulled Aquilamon off his back as he raised his sickle to block Paildramon's attack.

"He's too strong!" Cody cried.

"Quick," said Yolei, "lets have our Digimon DNA Digivolve too."

Kari nodded. "Good idea."

The Veemon blinked. "DNA Digivolve?" He suddenly became angry. "No, no more DNA Digivolving! That won't be enough to stop him! He's a Mega; three Ultimates don't stand a chance!"

"It's fine," Davis assured him. "Paildramon can Digivolve to Mega too. We'll wipe the floor with this guy."

The Veemon stomped his foot. "No, you fools! That won't be enough! One Mega is not on equal par with another! Reapermon has power that you cannot overcome! Only the golden one can defeat him! The prophecy must be fulfilled, or his reign of terror will never end!"

Reapermon laughed as he continued holding Paildramon back. "Foolish creatures! It doesn't matter what you do! My power far outstrips your own! _Burning Cyclone!"_

He began spinning around, and a tornado of fire appeared around him, touching the ground and rising high in the air. The suction pulled all five Digimon into the flaming vortex. They cried out in agony as the flames burned them, unable to escape as the air suction kept them trapped within the fire.

Their human friends stared in horror at the swirling inferno. When it finally dissipated, five smoking bodies dropped from the sky.

Reapermon laughed as he stopped spinning and looked down at those that dared to challenge him. "You see! You stand no chance! No chance!"

As the blackened and burned Digimon struggled to get to their feet, the Veemon turned to the humans. "See that? I told you, only by fulfilling the prophecy can we defeat him."

TK and Kari exchanged a look before turning back to their Digimon. "Hey, Angemon!" the former shouted.

"Angewomon!"

"Can you guys manage it?"

Groaning, the two angel Digimon forced themselves to stand. "Whatever it takes," Angemon declared.

The two humans held up their Digivices and cried out together. "Then Digivolve, now!"

The light from their Digivices flowed out, and the two Digimon were engulfed in it as the process unfolded.

"_Angemon __**Warp**__ Digivolve to… Seraphimon!"_

"_Angewomon __**Mega**__ Digivolve to… Magnadramon!"_

When the light faded, an armor clad angel and a holy dragon Digimon stood in place of Angemon and Angewomon. Reapermon turned to them and looked on with interest, taking in their Mega forms.

"So, you think you can measure up to me now that you're Megas too?" he mocked. "You still don't stand a chance."

"We shall fulfill the prophecy," Seraphimon declared.

Magnadramon began circling around Seraphimon as they channeled their powers together. Paildramon, Ankylomon, and Aquilamon moved in front of them protectively, but Reapermon made no move to attack them as he watched in fascination as the two worked their magic.

A beam of golden light burst from the empty air in front of Seraphimon as Magnadramon passed him one final time. It flew through the air with a destination in mind, landing in Davis' hand. The light vanished, and there was now a square-shaped golden object with intricate designs on it in his hand.

"The Digi-Egg of Miracles," Davis whispered. He looked at Paildramon. "Veemon, come out of there! It's time to Golden Armor Digivolve!"

But before Paildramon could separate, another voice cried out, _"Vee Headbutt!"_

Davis got the wind knocked out of him as the Veemon slammed his head into his gut. Jumping up, he snatched the golden Digi-Egg out of Davis' hand while he was doubled over and hopped away from him.

Red in the face and gasping for air, Davis looked at the Veemon. "Hey, what was that for?"

The cheerful façade faded away from the Veemon as an empty emotionless scowl crossed his face. "Nothing personal. I'm just taking back what is rightfully mine."

Holding up the golden Digi-Egg in one hand, he held up his other one beside it, palm up. The Digi-Egg of Miracles began glowing, and dark particles started flowing out of it. They settled into his other hand, forming a pixelated object, and when the last of the dark particles flowed out of the golden Digi-Egg and finished materializing, he now held a misshapen black version of the Digi-Egg of Miracles.

"Behold," the Veemon awed, "the source of my true power."

He tossed the golden Digi-Egg aside as if it were useless garbage, where it disappeared in a flash of light. In his hand, the black Digi-Egg began to emit a dark aura that flowed over his body.

Having caught his breath, Davis stared at the object in the Veemon's hand, recognizing it. "Hey, I know what that thing is. That was the power source for Ken's flying base back when he was the Digimon Emperor."

"I remember it too," said Paildramon. "It turned into the Digi-Egg of Miracles, then we used it to allow my Veemon self to Golden Armor Digivolve."

The Veemon stared at the black Digimental. "It resembles it because it's the opposite of the Digi-Egg of Miracles. You fools had no idea what kind of dark power you held all this time. When it was taken from me, its code was broken down and placed inside the golden Digi-Egg to neutralize its power. That is, until a certain human boy brought out its corruption and used it to power his base, only to foolishly let goggle-head over there get his grubby hands on it and bring out its purity once more."

"Wait," said Yolei, "I'm a little lost here. Just what's going on?"

"What's going on," said TK, "is that we were duped. This guy just wanted to get his hands on that black thing."

The Veemon glared at him. "What you are looking at," he growled, "is the Digi-Egg of Disasters. Now that I've extracted its code from that stupid golden egg, it has rematerialized, and I can once again unleash its power without worrying about it getting cancelled out by the Digi-Egg of Miracles' purity. Brace yourselves, DigiDestined, you're about to face your worst nightmare. _Dark Armor Energize!"_

Black light erupted from the Digi-Egg of Disastors, bathing the Veemon in it until he could no longer be seen within the darkness. Though the light was black, it was still unmistakably the light of Digivolution.

"_Veemon __**Dark Armor**__ Digivolve to… DarkMagnamon!"_

**(A/N: Yup, they were totally played. I'm sure many of you saw through the ruse early on, but I'll bet you didn't see where the Veemon's source of power was meant to come from. Now that he's got the Digi-Egg of Disasters once more, DarMagnamon has returned. What sort of trouble does spell for the Digital World? With someone known as the Great Destroyer back in power, it certainly can't mean anything good.)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Great Destroyer

**(A/N: All right, now things are really going to start to get underway. DarkMagnamon has appeared, and the DigiDestined are about to face the legend. But after facing guys like Daemon, MaloMyotismon, and ****Armageddemon, how bad could one lone Digimon be. Well, lets just say that there's a reason he was sealed away in that temple****.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 4: The Great Destroyer**

It wasn't uncommon to run into evil versions of good Digimon. After having their data corrupted at some point, wicked duplicates of what used to be normal Digimon had been spawned. Most would normally have the title 'Dark', 'Shadow', 'Black', or some other symbolic phrase in their name to symbolize their corruption, though some simply kept the same name as their previous form, such as the case with Leomon when he was under the influence of Devimon's Black Gears, or Kokomon's Mega form when he was infected with a computer virus.

The former now seemed to be the case with the Digimon standing before them. DarkMagnamon was indeed appropriately named too. He was an exact mirror image of Magnamon, only the armor he wore was black instead of gold, and he bore the Mark of Evil on his loin-guard rather than the Emblem of Miracles.

The new Digimon remained where he was, staring at the DigiDestined with completely emotionless red eyes from behind his mask. His absolute stillness was unsettling, his silence unnerving. Usually, when they faced a villain who had obtained a power boost, they would brag about their power, but DarkMagnamon didn't utter a single word. And though he seemed to be simply standing still, his body language indicated that he was ready to attack at a moment's notice.

A wicked cackle came from up above as Reapermon hovered overhead. "Foolish DigiDestined, you've just signed your death warrants. Thanks to you, the Great Destroyer has now returned."

"The Great Destroyer?" Cody repeated.

"Hold it!" Davis cried. "Are you saying that the two of you are working together?"

"Working together?" Reapermon laughed. "We orchestrated this whole charade. And it all went according to plan. You foolish humans and your do-gooder ways. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist saving the poor little Digimon from the big bad guy. And you walked right into our trap."

"But what about the prophecy?"

"A lie!" Reapermon shouted gleefully. "You DigiDestined are so predictable, so eager to believe in the power of good over evil. All it took was the mention of a bogus prophecy to stop the bad guy, and you rushed to fulfill it. But instead, you played right into our hands. Now that DarkMagnamon has risen again, we shall resurrect the Masters, and darkness will rule over this world."

His laughter echoed all around them. The DigiDestined and their Digimon glared at him furiously. Perhaps what was most infuriating of all wasn't the fact that they had been tricked, but that he was right. They had been naïve, and had been too eager to do the right thing, and thus allowed the cyborg Digimon to achieve his goal. Reapermon had indeed played them for fools. They'd completely fallen for his ruse, hook, line, and sinker. Now they had two enemies to face instead of one.

What happened next was nothing more than a blur of movement. One moment DarkMagnamon was on the ground, the next he was in the air beside Reapermon. His leg shot out, kicking the robotic skeleton in the head. As he went flying, DarkMagnamon was suddenly flying over him, bringing his balled fists down on him. He went crashing to the ground, ending up in a crater made by his own impact as DarkMagnamon hovered in the air above him.

"_Dark Magna Blast!"_

DarkMagnamon fired a plasma ball of corrupt black energy. It flew down towards Reapermon, exploding on impact. Reapermon's cry was lost amongst the blast, and his body scattered into data and disappeared.

The DigiDestined couldn't believe what they had just witnessed. For all his power, the Mega level Reapermon had just been destroyed before their very eyes, and in three attacks no less; technically only one if DarkMagnamon's corrupt plasma ball attack was the only one that counted.

"He… he destroyed him," Kari muttered.

"Yeah," said Ken, equally as horrified, "and so easily too."

"Do you think that means he's on our side?" Davis asked.

TK wasn't so optimistic. "I think it's more likely that a Digimon that's known as the 'Great Destroyer' doesn't care who it is that he destroys."

DarkMagnamon glanced at them. Suddenly, he was no longer in the air, but directly in front of them, nearly three times as tall as the tallest of them.

"Get away from them!" Ankylomon shouted, charging at DarkMagnamon.

The evil Digimon whirled around, kicking out as he did so. His foot slammed into Ankylomon, the blow powerful enough to reduce him to his In-Training level and send him flying.

"Upamon!" Cody shouted.

Paildramon moved quickly, flying into the little Digimon's path and catching him. "I got him."

DarkMagnamon suddenly vanished again, moving at such high speeds he could barely be seen. He was in the air again beside Aquilamon, reaching out and grabbing one of his horns. He then dropped down, bringing the giant eagle Digimon down with him, and slamming him on the ground. Aquilamon immediately dropped to his Rookie level, Hawkmon.

"There is no need for such weak Digimon to be here," DarkMagnamon said emotionlessly.

He raised his hand for a killing blowing, and was immediately showered by bullets, curtsey of Paildramon's _Desperado Blaster_ attack. It did nothing to hurt him, but it drew his attention to his attacker.

"Not even an Ultimate is a worthy challenge."

"Not a worthy challenge?" Paildramon repeated. He set down Upamon and moved away from him. "Fine then, I'll show you a worthy challenge. _Paildramon __**Mega**__ Digivolve to… Imperialdramon!"_

When the light of Digivolution faded, an enormous dragon Digimon towered over them all. Taking aim, he pointed the giant cannon on his back at the dark armored Digimon, wary of Hawkmon. "Get away from our friend!"

DarkMagnamon didn't even spare the hawk Digimon a glance. "You pathetic do-gooders wouldn't dare to fire that while your friend is in range. All the same, I shall acquiesce your request."

He disappeared again, and was suddenly speeding towards Imperialdramon from the left. _"Dark Punch!"_

His fist collided with the giant dragon Digimon's head, sending out a shockwave of dark energy upon contact. Even though Imperialdramon was colossal in size compared to him, the blow still sent him stumbling to the side.

While he was dazed, DarkMagnamon came up from below, colliding with Imperialdramon's chin, then he flew down from up above, slamming into the top of his head. Imperialdramon collapsed onto his stomach, and DarkMagnamon flew right in front of him.

"_Dark Magna Blast!"_

Imperialdramon took the blast in the face, and a large cloud of smoke obscured his head. That was when Seraphimon made his move. Coming up behind DarkMagnamon, he unleashed his attack.

"_Strike of the Seven Stars!"_

Seven superheated spheres of sacred light shot at DarkMagnamon, six in a circle, one in the center, but he turned around and flew straight at the attack, flying in a horizontal position while spinning, going straight through the center of the six spheres, knocking away the center one. Seraphimon gasped in surprise just before DarkMagnamon's fist made contact with his helmet, causing his head inside to rattle, and he fell from the sky, crashing to the ground.

"_Magna Dark Bolt!"_

Two electrifying bolts off dark power flew from his arms down at Seraphimon. Magnadramon suddenly threw herself over him, shielding him with her own body, taking the attack for him.

"Magnadramon!" Seraphimon gasped. "Are you all right?"

The pink dragon Digimon groaned as she looked up at DarkMagnamon. "I'll be fine. _Fire Tornado!"_

A tornado of fire flew from her mouth up at DarkMagnamon. He didn't even bother to try to avoid it.

"_Dark Barrier!"_

A black aura surrounded his body as Magnadramon's attack flowed over him, unable to penetrate his barrier; her attack had done nothing.

"He's so strong," she said, "and fast."

Up above, DarkMagnamon's barrier vanished. "For Megas, your power is pathetic. I was hoping for a more worthy challenge after all these years."

His eyes suddenly widened in realization and he did a backflip in the air. Imperialdramon's _Mega Crusher_ attack flew by underneath him, nearly hitting him. He turned to find the giant dragon Digimon standing once again.

"We're a lot tougher than you think," he told the evil Digimon. "And we've still got a few tricks up our sleeves. Just watch. _Imperialdramon Mode Change to… Imperialdramon Fighter Mode."_

The massive dragon had transformed. Not quite a Digivolution, but still an evolutionary change. Now standing on only two legs with his arms free to attack and defend, he was three times stronger than in his Dragon Mode.

"Everyone ready for round two?" he asked his companions.

The angel and holy beast Digimon joined their friend in the air on the other side of DarkMagnamon.

"Ready."

"Lets do this. _Excalibur!"_

Seraphimon flew towards DarkMagnamon with his sword. DarkMagnamon caught the blade as it was swiped at him, and he sent the angel Digimon flying with a kick.

"_Dragon Fire!"_ Magnadramon cried

From up above, bolts of energy rained down around DarkMagnamon. With his great speed, he maneuvered around the bolts as panels opened up in his armor.

"_Dark Blaster!"_

Missiles shot out of his armor like rockets, exploding against Magnadramon, tearing cries of pain from her.

"_Splendor Blade!"_ Imperialdramon shouted, creating a blade of light and slashing downward with it.

DarkMagnamon whirled around and caught the blade. Then, to the shock and disbelief of everyone present, used Imperialdramon's momentum to throw the giant dragon Digimon over his head and behind him.

Magnadramon had recovered from DarkMagnamon's attack. She flew up under him and chomped down on his leg, holding him in place. He glared down at her and began punching her teeth, trying to get her to let go.

"I've 'ot 'im!" she shouted through clenched teeth. "'Urry, 'et 'im!"

Seraphimon flew over. _"Strike of the Seven Stars!"_

The seven fireballs slammed into DarkMagnamon. While he was dazed, Magnadramon opened her mouth to unleash her own attack.

"_Fire Tornado!"_

The spinning flames consumed DarkMagnamon, and Seraphimon and Magnadramon quickly moved back to make way for Imperialdramon.

"Everyone stand clear," he said as his chest opened to produce a large gun. _"Giga Crusher!"_

A massive beam flew from the gun, creating an even bigger explosion that lit up the sky with a deafening _boom_. It took several long seconds for the light from the blast to die down, and when it did, a cloud of smoke remained where DarkMagnamon was.

"That got him," said Imperialdramon.

"All right!" Davis cheered. "They did it! Looks like the Great Destroyer just got destroyed."

"No, wait, look!" Cody cried.

As the smoke began to dissipate, the silhouette of someone could be made out within it.

"What?" Imperialdramon gasped in disbelief.

The smoke faded away, and DarkMagnamon was revealed, his _Dark Barrier_ surrounding him. Even so, some of the attack had gotten through, and he had taken on some damage.

His arms were up, shielding his face, and when he lowered them, his eyes were glowing with a red light, and an angry growl was emitting from his throat. Sparks of black electricity began flowing over his body, and he let out a mighty war cry.

"Quick, hit him again!" Ken shouted.

The end of Imperialdramon's gun began to glow. _"Giga-"_

DarkMagnamon sped towards him, kicking upward. His foot hit the end of the gun, sending it upward, and the attack went up in the sky as Imperialdramon ended up on his back, still in midair.

Appearing above him, DarkMagnamon slammed his elbow into the dragon Digimon's gut. Even though Imperialdramon was large enough that he could hold DarkMagnamon in his hand, the strength behind the blow still sent him crashing to the ground.

Magnadramon was his next target as he appeared by her. Grabbing her by the tail, he began spinning her around, deliberately slamming her into Seraphimon before throwing her to the ground. Before she even landed, he fired a _Dark Magna Blast_ down after her, causing a powerful explosion.

As the dust settled, the DigiDestined looked on with their mouths hanging open.

"What just happened?" asked Yolei. "He totally went berserk just then."

Hovering in the air, eyes still glowing, DarkMagnamon roared loudly once again. Down below, the three Megas rushed him at the same time, quickly closing the gap between them.

DarkMagnamon watched as they approached and summoned up his dark power. _"Dark Magna Eruption!"_

It was a devastating attack, a corrupt version of the one that Magnamon had used to destroy Kimeramon. A sphere of black energy erupted from DarkMagnamon's body. The darkness consumed Imperialdramon, Seraphimon, and Magnadramon. And when the attack finally died down, three In-Training and a Rookie dropped from the sky.

The DigiDestimed cried out their partners' names and went to retrieve them, Upamon and Hawkmon already having been recovered. Salamon was the only other Rookie besides Hawkmon while the other three In-Trainings consisted of DemiVeemon, Minomon, and Tokomon.

DarkMagnamon came in for a landing his eyes no longer glowing, and looked on as the humans cradled their Digimon partners. He glared at them in disapproval as waves of hatred rolled off him.

"You Digimon and your pet humans are pathetic. It will be the utmost pleasure to destroy you."

Yolei growled. "What's your deal? We tried to help you because we thought you were in trouble, and you thank us by trying to kill us."

"Yeah," Davis agreed, "just what's your beef with us?"

DarkMagnamon's gaze was unwavering. "I seek revenge for my master. You pathetic DigiDestined somehow managed to destroy him, but now I shall avenge him."

"Your master?" TK repeated.

Was that what this was all about? DarkMagnamon had some kind of vendetta against them because he was the subordinate of someone they had defeated? That didn't give them much to go on. After all, they had defeated many evil Digimon over the years, Devimon, Datamon, MetalEtemon, the Dark Masters, Apocalymon, Kimeramon, Arukenimon, Mummymon, the Daemon Corps, MaloMyotismon Armageddemon, and those were just the head honchos.

"Who is your master?" Cody demanded.

"Don't worry," DarkMagnamon told them, "you'll meet him soon enough. Behold."

He held up his hand, and there was a flash of black light. He now held a small black square object in his hand that looked a lot like-

"A Crest!" Kari gasped. "He has a Crest!"

"A Crest indeed," DarkMagnamon replied. "But this one is very different from yours. While the ones you foolish humans possess were made to combat the forces of darkness, this one was created to aid and empower them. You now look upon the Crest of Desolation."

TK stared at the black Crest with an uneasy feeling settling in his gut. "The Crest of…"

"Desolation…" Kari finished.

DarkMagnamon closed his hand over the Crest, and it disappeared again. "Yes, and with it, the forces of good shall fall. There will be no one to stop my lord, or the other Masters."

Davis shook his fist at him. "I don't know who these Masters of yours are, but we're not going to let them, or you, take over anything!"

DarkMagnamon's eyes narrowed. "Oh? And who's going to stop me? You and your pathetic Digimon? They can barely stand up, let alone fight. If I wanted to, I could destroy you all right now."

He made a move as if to go on the attack, and the humans held their Digimon close.

DarkMagnamon dropped his stance. "But don't worry yourselves just yet. I won't destroy you right now. I hear that unlike us Digimon, when you humans die, you stay dead indefinitely. So I want you and your Digimon to witness as the darkness conquers the light before you meet your end. And once you've realized that you've failed in your duty to protect this world, then I'll kill your partner Digimon right in front of you. After you watch them die, then I will put an end to your own miserable insignificant lives." His eyes narrowed. "And when your partner Digimon are reborn, they'll be slaves to the Masters, and you'll no longer be around to share your strength with them. So I hope you're ready, Digi-Destined, because this is the beginning of the end for you."

Without another word, he took to the air and flew off. The DigiDestined were silent as they watched him speed away. One by one, they looked at each other, all aware of the danger at hand. A single thought was prominent in each of their minds; they were in serious trouble.

**(A/N: Yikes, they got their rear ends handed to them. But DarkMagnamon isn't called the Great destroyer for nothing. And just what is the purpose of the Crest of Desolation? Where did it come from? What's DarkMagnamon going to do with it? Questions need to be answered, and answers shall be received in the next chapter.)**


	5. Chapter 5: Tales of Darker Days

**(A/N: Last chapter, we witnessed the mighty and terrible power of DarkMagnamon, now it's time to learn of his origins. There will also be a lot of other backstories and various connections appearing. You'll see what I mean when you read the chapter.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 5: Tales of Darker Days**

"So that's the story," TK finished.

Kari's older brother, Taichi, more commonly known simply as Tai, crossed his arms as he thought this over. "DarkMagnamon, huh? He sure sounds like bad news."

Having returned to the Real World, the DigiDestined's first order of business had been to call a meeting with their predecessors to discuss the situation. The twelve humans sat gathered in the computer room while the still battle weary Digimon rested and ate to replenish their strength.

At the computer, Koushiro Izumi, nicknamed Izzy, looked through their Digimon Analyzer. "DarkMagnamon. I'm not finding any information on him. Are you sure that's his name?"

"Well," Davis muttered sarcastically, "considering he looked like a black armored version of Magnamon, and he called himself DarkMagnamon, yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"Sarcasm is not becoming," Sora Takenouchi told him.

Izzy didn't seem to care though. "Hmm, I guess we'll have to wait until we hear back from Gennai. Hopefully he can shed some light on this."

"What I want to know," said Yamato Ishida, TK's older brother, called Matt for short, "is who these Masters are that he mentioned."

"That's a good question," said Tai. "If this DarkMagnamon is as bad as you say he is, then whoever he answers to must be a lot worse."

Joe Kido tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Could he have been referring to Apocalymon and the Dark Masters? The name fits, and Gennai did say that Apocalymon created the Dark Masters. Could DarkMagnamon be another Digimon he created that served under them."

Izzy thought about this. "It's a good theory, one that's definitely worth looking into."

Mimi Tachikawa suddenly screeched. "What if he uses that black Crest to bring them back? He said we would meet his masters soon enough. Digimon never really die, and that would apply to anyone we defeated in the past. Our own Crests were used to help our Digimon to Digivolve. What if his is meant to help bad Digimon to Digivolve? All the bad Digimon we faced will come back just as strong as before."

There were gasps all around at this horrifying possibility. None of them liked the thought of having to face any of the Dark Masters again, let alone their creator.

Tai's fists clenched. "No way! There's no way we'll let that happen. If we all work together, we can beat this DarkMagnamon and destroy his evil Crest."

"_I'm glad to hear you say that. It's good to know you haven't lost your flare."_

Tai smirked. "That's right… Wait, what?"

They all seemed to realize it at the same time; the voice that had just spoken hadn't come from anyone in the room.

"Hey, wait," said Sora, "was that Gennai?"

"It's a transmission from the Digital World," said Izzy, bringing it up on screen. "I guess you got my e-mail."

It was still strange for the first generation DigiDestined to look upon the youthful features of their friend and mentor, having met him and known him so long as an old man. A strange black ball inserted into his body by Piedmon had aged him into the old man he had been, but a few Digi-Vitamins had eventually fixed that once the evil clown Digimon had been defeated.

"_I responded as soon as I got it,"_ he replied. _"And I have to say, this is very distressing news."_

"Then you know who DarkMagnamon is?" TK asked as he and the others crowded around the computer.

Gennai sighed. _"Unfortunately, yes, but I've only ever heard rumors. Truthfully, most of us thought he was just a myth from a long time ago."_

"Trust us, he's no myth," Cody told him.

"Yeah," Upamon agreed, "he kicked our butts real good. A myth can't do that."

"_No, I suppose not. I'm afraid we're all in grave danger."_

"Why, Gennai?" Ken asked. "Just what are we dealing with? Who are these Masters that DarkMagnamon mentioned?"

A faraway look appeared in Gennai's eyes. _"In order to explain that, I'll have to start at the beginning. It all goes back to the great war from a very long time ago."_

"A war, huh?" said Davis. "I guess that sort of thing happens even in the Digital World too."

"_Yes, I'm afraid it does, and this war was waged throughout the entire Digital World. It was fought between the human-type and beast-type Digimon."_

"Digimon racism?" said Kari. "That's horrible."

"I don't recall ever seeing anything like that," Sora added. "At most, I've only ever seen it between Virus types and Data and Vaccine types."

"_That's because most of those old prejudices have been put to rest over time, but there are still some parts of the Digital World where it runs strong; the mysterious floating Lost Island is a prime example of it. But the war itself ended long ago when a lone angel Digimon known as Lucemon appeared to stop the fighting."_

"That's pretty cool," Tai thought out loud, "to think that a single Digimon could stop an entire World War."

"_The war may have been better compared to what followed,"_ Gennai told them regretfully. _"Lucemon was far from the savior he seemed to be."_

"What do you mean?" Yolei asked.

"_What I mean is that things eventually became much worse than they were during the war. For a time, Lucemon ruled the Digital World in peace and harmony, but eventually all that power went to his head and corrupted him. He also became paranoid of the possibility of rebellion, and eventually went mad. He became intent on not just ruling the Digital World, but on controlling everything and everyone in it."_

"I guess that's not so surprising," Izzy remarked. "After all, human rulers have been known to become tyrants during their reign."

Ken growled. "Power corrupts. I know that better than anyone."

"_If it's any consolation,"_ Gennai told him, _"your reign as the Digimon Emperor was a walk in the park compared to Lucemon's after he went bad. Things became even worse when he changed to his even more powerful Chaos Mode. He began recruiting other evil Digimon to his cause, and he selected six others to rule by his side. He and these other six came to be known as the Seven Great Demon Lords. They are the Masters that DarkMagnamon spoke of."_

"Wow," said DemiVeemon. "The Demon Lords. They sound really bad."

"_You have no idea. Along with Lucemon, they consisted of Beelzemon, Laylamon, Barbamon, Leviamon, Belphamon, and Daemon."_

"Daemon!" both the humans and the Digimon exclaimed at the same time.

"You mean that hooded freak that wanted the Dark Spore in Ken's neck?" Davis asked.

"_The very same one I'm afraid. He was one of the seven."_

Unease ran through the DigiDestined. Daemon had been immensely powerful; definitely the strongest foe they had ever faced. He had easily overwhelmed them without even trying. It had taken all their strength and power to simply push him into the portal they had created that led to the Dark Ocean, and that had only worked because he had done nothing to stop them because he was impressed by their resources and had decided to give them the win. He had even _laughed_ at them as the portal had closed around him, like he was simply accepting a challenge at having to escape from the evil dimension.

The thought of there being six more like him did not sit well with any of them. And if this Lucemon had been the leader of these Demon Lords, then his power must truly be unimaginable.

"I guess that's why Owikawa considered it an honor to meet him," Ken noted. "He was meeting one of the Demon Lords."

Gennai nodded. _"Yes, indeed. The Demon Lords were some of the evilest and most powerful Digimon of all. And if any two of them DNA Digivolved together, they would become the Super Demon Lord, Ogudomon. Their reign of terror was a dark time, my friends, a very dark time. Nearly all evil Digimon followed them, and only a few surpassed them in power and wickedness."_

"Really, like who?" Mimi asked curiously.

"_Like Apocalymon for one. GranDracmon and Bagramon for others. Tai, Davis, I'm sure you recall your battle with Quartzmon in that parallel world; he would be another. But they're not relevant to the story."_

Izzy began looking up information on another computer. "These Demon Lords, they sound as if they were named after the seven princes of Hell in biblical stories. Lucemon would be Lucifer, the demon of pride. Leviamon would be Leviathan, envy. Beelzemon would be Beelzebub, gluttony. Belphamon would be Belphegor, sloth. Laylamon would be Lilith, lust. Barbamon would be Barbatos, greed. And Daemon would be Satan, wrath."

A smile grazed Gennai's face. _"As sharp as ever, Izzy. Indeed, the Demon Lords are based off them; most Digimon are based on some aspect of the Human World. They played fitting roles to their names too. They sought to open the Gate of Deadly Sins, which led to the Dark Area where GranDracmon reigned supreme, and where the guardian, Anbuismon, sends the data of evil Digimon to. If they had opened that gate, all those evil Digimon that had been deleted to the Dark Area would have poured out, and there would have been no stopping them. Fortunately, they were defeated before this happened."_

"How was that accomplished?" Matt asked eagerly.

"_One day, 10 powerful Mega level Digimon, each of a different element, fought against Lucemon. They managed to defeat him and seal him away in the Digital World's core."_

"Well, that's good," Mimi replied.

Gennai sighed sadly. _"Unfortunately, eight of them lost their lives in the battle, and the last two later perished facing the evil Digimon, Ornismon. But for their serves to the Digital World, they became known as the 10 Legendary Warriors. After their deaths, their powers were preserved, in 20 different spirits to give to those that may be worthy. These spirits, along with Lucemon's broken powers, were shared between the three Celestial Angels, Cherubimon, Seraphimon, and Ophannimon."_

Tokomon beamed. "Hey, did you hear that? My Mega form is the same as one of the Celestial Angels."

TK smiled at his partner. "That is pretty cool."

Davis scowled and muttered, "Show off."

"_As for the remaining Demon Lords,"_ Gennai continued, _"they were defeated one by one after the fall of their leader. Belphamon was forced into his passive Sleep Mode form, and was sealed away in a temple. Leviamon, Barbamon, and Laylamon were destroyed, and were never given the opportunity to return to power. Beelzemon was destroyed as well, but when he was reborn, it was one of the few rare cases that he didn't remember anything from before he was destroyed, and so he was sent to an alternate version of the Human World to become partners with a pair of children."_

"That was risky," Joe pointed out.

But Kari was more optimistic. "Maybe they hoped that the innocence of children would keep his darker side at bay."

Gennai chuckled. _"Very observant, Kari. That was indeed the plan. We thought it would be a great benefit for us if one of the Demon Lords were now on our side. As for Daemon, until he made his reappearance a short while ago, no one had known what had happened to him. He was the lone survivor of the Demon Lords."_

"Hey," said Cody, "MaloMyotismon used the Dark Spores to regain his power after he was defeated four years ago. Do you suppose that's why Daemon wanted Ken's Dark Spore too; to bring his fellow Demon Lords back to power?"

"_That is the most likely scenario,"_ Gennai agreed. _"In fact, those three that he had brought with him were actually three of the Demon Lords in their Ultimate forms. SkullSatamon would have Digivolved to Barbamon, MarineDevimon would have Digivolved to Leviamon, and LadyDevimon would have Digivolved to Laylamon. They had managed to reach their Ultimate levels since their first defeat, and were most likely hoping to use the Dark Spore to gain the power boost they needed to reach their Mega forms that they had been prevented from reaching."_

"Wow," said Yolei. "I guess that's why they were so strong, and so inexplicably evil."

"_Yes, it's a good thing that you destroyed them. But moving on from the Demon Lords, I'm glad you brought up MaloMyotismon, You see, back when the Demon Lords were in power, he was one of their followers."_

Salamon's eyes narrowed. "No surprise there. Someone as twisted and evil as him would undoubtedly get involved with such an evil cause, especially if he thought it would help him gain power."

"_Indeed. But MaloMyotismon, or Myotismon as he was back then, was also secretly working against them as well. He planned on overthrowing them one day and ruling in their place once they conquered the Digital World."_

Salamon nodded. "Yup, that's just like him."

"_Which brings me to the next part of the story. You see, when the Demon Lords were at large, a group of 13 powerful Digimon that fought for truth, peace, and justice was assembled. They became known as the Royal Knights, and they were the biggest threat to the Demon Lords' plans for world domination. And one of the members was a Magnamon."_

Davis' face lit up. "No kidding?" He looked down at DemiVeemon in his lap. "See that, you're just as good as TK's Digimon. Your Golden Armor stage is one of the Royal Knights."

The others rolled their eyes at Davis' childish attempt to try and either match or one-up TK.

Gennai sweat-dropped and cleared his throat. _"Yes… well, anyway. One day, Myotismon challenged Magnamon to a fight. Of course, he was no match for a Royal Knight, but before he fled. He somehow managed to obtain a portion of Magnamon's Fractal Code."_

Mimi blinked. "Fractal Code? What's that?"

"_A Fractal Code is a strip of data that makes up a Digimon, and the entire Digital World for that matter. When a Digimon dies, their bodies breaks down into data particles, leaving them with only their DigiCore, containing their basic data, which is then reconfigured into a Digi-Egg, leaving any additional data behind. Digimon generally get stronger by adding the additional data of a destroyed Digimon onto themselves, but on a different layer of the Digital World, data is processed differently so that, during the initial destruction of a Digimon, or when one is wounded badly enough, their Fractal Code will surface, and another Digimon is capable of scanning and uploading that data. The Fractal Code is purest form of data, and when obtained, it will give the uploader a much greater power boost."_

"But that's not what our Digimon do," Davis pointed out.

"_No,"_ Gennai agreed. _"Digimon with human partners don't need to. They get their strength from their partners through their Digivices rather than obtaining data through battle. But getting back to what I was saying, Myotismon must have damaged Magnamon enough to be able to obtain a portion of his data. Afterwards, he used dark magic to combine the bit of data he got from Magnamon with the data from DarkTyrannomon, SkullGreymon, Devidramon, NeoDevimon, Bakemon, and Ghoulmon to create DarkMagnamon, the corrupt Royal Knight."_

Salamon growled. "It figures. He loved corrupting goodness. He did the same thing to me. Someone as sick and demented as him would create an abomination like that."

TK thought about what DarkMagnamon had said. "Then his lord and master, the one he wants revenge on us for defeating, it must have been MaloMyotismon he was talking about."

"Or Lucemon," Cody pointed out. "He was the leader of the Demon Lords, and Myotismon served under him."

"_That may be,"_ said Gennai, _"but you haven't faced Lucemon, and be grateful for that. But since it was Myotismon that created him, it was him, and him alone, that DarkMagnamon served. Although the Demon Lords did give Myotismon orders to give to DarkMagnamon. And he followed any and all commands without question._

"_At first he had little control over his powers, and Myotismon sent him on various missions where DarkMagnamon destroyed many innocent Digimon, burned towns, and destroyed everything in his path. His anger would easily overtake him in a battle, and he would go on a rampage, attacking either enemy or ally. Killing and destroying was what he did best, and he created wastelands wherever he went, and would lose control over his mind at times. He therefore became known as he Great Destroyer."_

"Yeah, we saw that going on a rampage part," said Minomon.

"But what happened to him until now?" Davis asked.

"_Once DarkMagnamon had total control of his powers, he asked Myotismon for a challenge. So Myotismon sent him to defeat Magnamon, the one he was born from, to show he was superior. It was a long and tiresome battle, and a great deal of land was destroyed, along with many Digimon that were caught in the crossfire, but eventually Magnamon led him into a trap by the Royal Knights. But since he was too strong for even them to defeat, he was instead trapped inside a special device, and the source of his power, the Digi-Egg of Disasters, was taken from him. Magnamon gave up his Digi-Egg of Miracles to seal away the evil power. As for the device containing DarkMagnamon, it was kept far away in a temple that no one aside from the Royal Knights knew of. It seemed that Myotismon eventually decided that DarkMagnamon was destroyed when he never returned, and eventually forgot he even existed."_

"Still not surprising," said Salamon. "He always disregarded anything he felt was useless, and must have thought the same of DarkMagnamon if he had thought he had been defeated."

"But then Reapermon set him free," Kari concluded, "and tricked us into giving him back his source of power."

They fell silent, taking the time to think about all this. It was eventually Sora who broke the silence.

"So now we know about DarkMagnamon and the masters, but what about the Crest of Desolation he had."

"_Ah, yes, that accursed Crest."_ A guilty and regretful look crossed his face. _"Truth be told, we're somewhat responsible for its creation."_

"Really?" Mimi asked. "How so? I would have thought that the Demon Lords were behind its creation."

"_Well, they were, but let me back up and explain things more thoroughly. In order to combat the forced of darkness, we who fought for the light came up with a way to give us an edge. I'm talking, of course, about Digimon having human partners. They draw their strength from you through your Digivices and Crests. Although it's an… I suppose you could say, unorthodox method, it allows a Digimon to Digivolve at a much faster rate. Normally, it would take years, even decades, of battle for a Digimon to reach the next level by uploading the data of others, but by sharing in your strength, your Digimon have gone to the next level in a matter of months, or even weeks._

"_But the Digivice does more than help a Digimon to share the strength of their partner and Digivolve faster. It also preserves their data in case death occurs."_ He looked at TK and Tokomon apologetically. _"I'm sorry to bring up such painful memories, but TK, if you'll recall the time Angemon sacrificed himself to defeat Devimon, he came back and returned to full strength very quickly. In a few days, it was as if he had never lost his life at all. Um, in terms of strength and Digivolution I mean."_

It was indeed a painful memory, more so for TK since he had to watch his partner die, while Angemon had willingly sacrificed himself to save him, knowing he would come back while TK had been ignorant of that fact. Though it was over four years ago, the memory of it still cut deep, and it was evident on his face.

"Yeah, what of it?" he asked, his tone unintentionally harsh.

"_Had that occurred with an ordinary Digimon without a human partner, they would have had to start over from scratch, building up their strength from the bottom up all over again. In your case, the Digivice preserved Patamon's data, allowing him to get up to the level he was at before almost as soon as he recovered his strength."_

He looked at the others. _"In any case, the strength your Digimon gain from you children have spared them from death, and simply reduced them to their In-Training or Baby stages instead when it would ordinarily have meant their demise. Also, there's a reason why Salamon here is able to remain in her Champion form."_

Salamon blinked. "Me?"

Gennai nodded. _"While the others gained their Champion and up stages through sharing in their partners' strength, you obtained yours the same way most other Digimon do, by fighting and uploading data to get stronger. Your friends, right off the bat, gained their strength and obtained their Digivolutions through their partners, which is why they're usually in their Rookie forms, or In-Training while in the Human World. You, however, gained it all on your own, which is why you're able to stay in your Champion form without sharing your partner's strength, unless you're running low on energy."_

"That makes sense," said Izzy. "It would explain why other Digimon in the Digital World are all at various stages while ours are always Rookies unless their fighting. And when they do Digivolve, they obtain their strength from us through our Digivices and Crests. Prodigious."

"_So now that you understand the advantages this gave us, you can imagine that the Demon Lords would want a power like that. Unfortunately, some information regarding the creation of the Crests was leaked, and they were able to obtain it. But since they didn't have all the information, and they didn't want to rely on humans for strength, they improvised, and eventually were able to create the Crest of Desolation. And while it doesn't have the same effects as your Crests, nor is it activated the same way, it still has a terrible power."_

"I know I'm going to regret asking this," said Tai, "but what kind of terrible power?"

"_A Digivolution for all Digimon that serve the darkness. They obtained it from the Catalyst of Digivolution before its data was reconfigured into Calumon."_

"Who?" Ken asked.

"_Never mind, just listen. Once the power of the Crest of Desolation is unleashed, all evil Digimon throughout the entire Digital World will rise to their highest Digivolution level. Even those that had been defeated already, or those in Digi-Egg form. You know that Digimon never really die. As I explained before, once reborn, a Digimon will have to gain their power all over again unless they have a human partner. But the Crest of Desolation will bring them all back to full strength. Imagine the entire Digital World filled with evil Mega level Digimon, even if they had never reached the Mega level before, they will still reach that level."_

"But that means that all the enemies we defeated will come back as Megas too!" Davis cried. "MaloMyotismon, Armageddemon, Apocalymon, all of them!"

"_The Demon Lords as well,"_ Gennai pointed out. _"They'll return to full power. No, they'll be even more powerful than before. Lucemon will be freed from his prison, Belphamon will awaken and change out of his Sleep Mode, Daemon will escape the Dark Ocean, Beelzemon will return to his evil ways, and Laylamon, Leviamon, and Barbamon will rise to power once, even though your just recently destroyed them again."_

"The Demon Lords," Matt muttered. "If worst comes to worst, we'll need to know what we're dealing with. Just how strong are these guys?"

Gennai looked uneasy. _"Lets just put it this way. I'm sure you remember MaloMyotismon's primary attack,_ Screaming Darkness._ Well, Barbamon's secondary attack, _Pandæmonium Lost_, is similar to it. But MaloMyotismon's _Screaming Darkness_ only releases a fraction of the amount energy as Barbamon's attack."_

"Yeah, that's pretty bad," Joe agreed.

"_If the power of the Crest of Desolation is unleashed, then the forces of good are finished. Whenever an evil Digimon has been defeated, those that fight for the light have always been able to prevent them from rising to the point of power they were at before, but the Crest of Desolation will bring _all_ of them to their prime. They'll be no hope for any of us."_

"Just out if curiosity," said Izzy, "how come no evil Digimon have ever used the Crest's power before now?"

"_That's because only DarkMagnamon, as the holder of the Digi-Egg of Disasters, is capable of unleashing it. Fortunately, in the past, he had been sealed away before the Crest had been completed."_

"So why doesn't he just use it already?" DemiVeemon asked.

"Hey," Davis told him, "don't sound so eager for it."

"_He can't,"_ Gennai explained. _"Not yet anyway. Which is the only reason why I've taken the time to explain all this to you rather than sending you into battle right away. In order to unleash that much dark energy, there is only one place he can do that. The place in the Digital World where evil is most prominent and the darkness is strongest. That's where he's going, to the source of all the evil in the Digital World."_

Ken's eyes widened. "You can't mean…"

Gennai nodded. _"Yes, he has to unleash it in the Dark Ocean."_

**(A/N: Yes, I made the connections to the other seasons. I know a lot of people think that Season 4 actually takes place before Season 1, but I don't think so. First off, the "original" DigiDestined were only five, not six as there was in Season 4, and the true enemy they faced was Apocalymon, not Lucemon, and they only managed to seal him behind the firewall until he escaped at the end of Season 1. Also it was explained in Season 3 that the Digital World has various "layers", which I theorize that the different Seasons take place in, and each layer connects to a different time/reality of the Real World, where alternate events take place, as revealed in Season 6, and the door with the cards that Myotismon and the DigiDestined went through in Season 1 leads to these different realities based on the order they're placed in. Well, that's my theory anyway. I also provided a bunch of history for the Digital World, most specifically with the Demon Lords. I always assumed that the reason Daemon wanted the Dark Spore in Ken's neck was to resurrect his fellow Demon Lords, and that his 3 minions were the Ultimate levels of the past Demon Lords that have been prevented from reaching their Mega levels once again. Looks like that'll now be possible once DarkMagnamon unleashes the power of the Crest of Desolation. He can only do that in the Dark Ocean though, and lets not forget who the DigiDestined trapped there. There's gonna be some tough times ahead, so be prepared.)**


	6. Chapter 6: The Demon Lord and the Sinful

**(A/N: There will probably be a bunch of questions by the end of this chapter. I answered any that I think people may have in the Author's Note at the end, but feel free to ask some more if you still have questions.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 6: The Demon Lord and the Sinful Priest**

"I don't know if I can," Ken told them doubtfully.

"You have to," Davis insisted. "It's the only way we can get to the Dark Ocean before DarkMagnamon."

Ken shook his head. "The last time I tried to open a portal to it, the darkness nearly overpowered me."

Minomon rubbed against him affectionately. "Don't worry, Ken. I have faith in you. And all your friends are here to help."

"That's right," said TK. "We'll be here to help you get through it, just like before."

"Yeah, we're a team!" Yolei declared. "Go, team, go!"

"If you did it once, you can do it again," Cody encouraged.

"And we'll lend you our strength to help you beat the darkness," Kari added.

Even the previous generation Digimon gave their encouragement.

"We'll help too," Tai told them. "Both in getting through with this, and with the battle with DarkMagnamon." He turned to the computer. "Hey, Gennai, could you contact Agumon and the others?"

Gennai just smiled. _"It's already done. I gathered them up as soon as I got Izzy's email."_

"Awesome, so who's here?"

One by one, their partner Digimon began appearing on screen.

"_Agumon!"_

"_Gabumon!"_

"_Biyomon!"_

"_Tentomon!"_

"_Palmon!"_

"_Gomamon!"_

The older kids gasped in delight, each calling out their partner Digimon's name.

Gennai cleared his throat. _"I'm afraid you'll have to exchange pleasantries later. Though we still have some time before DarkMagnamon reaches his destination, it's always better to be punctual."_

Tai nodded. "Yeah, no doubt." He turned to Ken. "All right, you ready to try this?"

Everyone looked at him expectantly, and for a brief moment, he wished he were like the Digimon Emperor, where he was completely fearless and enjoyed facing challenges and being in the spotlight. But now, as just plain Ken Ichijouji, he was nervous, fearful, and uncertain of himself.

Taking a deep breath, he took out his Digivice. "Ok, here it goes." He held up his Digivice and pointed it at the computer screen. "DigiPort open."

A beam of light shot out of his Digivice and hit the computer screen, lighting it up. While this would normally bring them to the Digital World, Ken reached deep inside himself and tapped into the darkness that resided in his heart. Almost immediately, he was assaulted by the memories of all the horrible things he had done as the Digimon Emperor. All the pain and suffering he had inflicted, he was now reliving it as if he were there. Only this time it wasn't through the eyes of the Digimon Emperor, but himself as he was now. There was no influence or lack of guilt from the Dark Spore, and he was fully aware that everything he saw was real and not just part of a game.

It was overwhelming, making him feel as if he were going to be sick. His wicked deeds were black marks on his soul that he would never be able to erase. He could repent and make up for his cruel ways, but he could never change the past, or the suffering he had caused in it. He would have to live with what he had done for the rest of his life, and right now, he was living it all over again.

A hand on his shoulder helped pull him out of his dark and morbid thoughts. Davis was beside him, providing emotional support, reminding him that these were just memories, and not actually taking place. The others joined him as well, lending their strength, and letting him know he wasn't alone, that they had faith in him, and forgave him for his wrong doings.

The darkness inside him became more bearable, and he was able to control and direct it. The light emitting from the computer turned black, and the DigiDestined were pulled in.

All was silent, save for the sound of the waves. They now stood on the beach of the Dark Ocean. Transparent black water calmly washed against the gray colorless sand, and a dark fog surrounded them, the entire dimension seemingly covered in a dark veil.

Eerie appearances aside, there was also a feeling of wrongness. A place like this should not exist. A dreadful feeling of unease and evil was everywhere, threatening to consume anything and everything. No living creature was meant to be here.

"Whoa, so this is the Dark Ocean?" Davis muttered.

Kari hugged herself and shivered. "I hate it here. I hate it so much."

TK put an arm around her. "I'll be fine. We just have to stay together."

So distracted they were by the eerie place, they hadn't realized that they had company until…

"What, no hello?" Agumon asked.

Everyone jumped as they saw the older DigiDestined's Digimon.

"Guy's, you're here!" Tai cried happily as they went to embrace their friends, the gloominess of the dimension momentarily forgotten due to their positive emotions. "But how'd you get here?"

"What do you mean?" Tentomon asked. "We simply went through the portal you opened from the other side. Although now that I see where we ended up, I think I may be regretting that decision."

"Yeah, no kidding," Matt agreed as he looked around. "This place is awful."

"Well, it _is_ the source of all evil in the Digital World," Gabumon told them.

"And it's caused so much pain and suffering," Minomon added. "Ken and I know that better than anyone."

"Don't worry," Biyomon encouraged. "Now that we're all together, there's nothing we can't do."

A sinister laughter echoed around them. "Quite optimistic there, aren't you?"

The DigiDestined immediately crowded together, looking around for the owner of the evil voice.

"Hey, who's there?" Tai demanded. "Show yourself!"

"No reason to ask who it is," said DemiVeemon. "I recognize that voice.

"So do I," Davis growled. "Come on out, Daemon!"

More evil laughter followed as the Demon Lord stepped out of the shadows. "I'm glad you remember me, foolish DigiDestined, and thank you for alerting me of your arrival with your little lightshow when you opened the DigiPort. A word of advice though, the next time you enter enemy territory, it's best not to announce your presence to everyone there."

The others looked at the monstrous creature before them. Though he had the same voice, this was not the Daemon they remembered. This was a hideous beast that looked like it wanted nothing more than to tear them to pieces.

"Hey," Yolei cried, "you're not Daemon! Who are you?"

The monster laughed. "Oh, but it is me, my dear. I am Daemon, but I have Mode Changed to my more powerful Beast Mode. I suppose I should thank you for it. It was the exposure to the evils and dark energy of this place that enabled me to take on this form. Did you fools really think that sending a Demon Lord to the place where the darkness is strongest wouldn't have repercussions?"

"Well," Davis muttered, "it seemed like a good idea at the time."

More laughter. "Fools! This is, in fact, where I originated from. Laylamon too for that matter. The two of us were once a Seraphimon and an Ophanimon, but after falling into the Dark Ocean, we emerged as two of the Demon Lords."

"Talk about a bad makeover," Mimi commented.

Daemon ignored her as he focused on one of them specifically. "Ken, so good of you to come to me. Are you willing to cooperate and give me the Dark Spore in your neck?"

Davis pointed at him. "Hey, back off, ugly! You leave our friend alone!"

Daemon's eyes narrowed. "Awfully big words from someone who's Digimon couldn't even scratch me, even as a Mega."

"Yeah, we'll, it's different this time. We got all our friends here with us. Come on, guys, lets show him what we've got."

"_DemiVeemon Digivolve to… Veemon! Veemon Digivolve to… ExVeemon!"_

"_Minomon Digivolve to… Wormmon! Wormmon Digivolve to… Stingmon!"_

"_Upamon Digivolve to… Armadillomon! Armadillomon Digivolve to… Ankylomon!"_

"_Poromon Digivolve to… Hawkmon! Hawkmon Digivolve to… Aquilamon!"_

"_Tokomon Digivolve to… Patamon! Patamon Digivolve to… Angemon!"_

"_Salamon Digivolve to… Gatomon! Gatomon Digivolve to… Angewomon!"_

"_Agumon __**Warp **__Digivolve to… WarGreymon!"_

"_Gabumon __**Warp **__Digivolve to… MetalGarurumon!"_

"_Biyomon Digivolve to… Birdramon!"_

"_Tentomon Digivolve to… Kabuterimon!"_

"_Palmon Digivolve to… Togemon!"_

"_Gomamon Digivolve to… Ikkakumon!"_

"All right, everyone," Tai cried. "Lets get this guy!"

Daemon surveyed the scene before him. "Is that all you've got? Two Megas, an Ultimate, and nine Champions are nothing against me." He chuckled arrogantly. "But if you're going for strength in numbers, perhaps I should even the odds a bit. You see, while I was here, I made a new friend. This dimension is ruled over by the lord of the Dark Ocean, and the two of us have become very well acquainted."

Placing two clawed fingers into his mouth, he whistled. A few seconds passed, and then something massively large rose out of the Dark Ocean. It was a creature that resembled a cross between a man and a squid, and could very easily pass for the mythological dark god, Cthulhu.

"Ha, ha!" the giant creature laughed. "Welcome to my dark dimension, DigiDestined. I am Dragomon, also know as the Depraved Monk of the Deep and the Sinful Priest of the Ocean Floor."

Kari's eyes were wide with fear. "The Dark Undersea Master," she muttered, recalling the time she had been forcibly drawn into this dimension by its residents.

Dragomon's mouth shifted into what served as a smile. "So nice to know that you haven't forgotten me, child of the light. It's a shame I missed you the last time you were here. But now that you and your friends are all gathered together, I can take my revenge on all you DigiDestined."

"Whoa," Davis cried, "hold up, big guy! What revenge? We've never even seen you before."

Dragomon chuckled. "Perhaps not in this form. The last time we had met, I was in my Mega form. Perhaps you'll remember me better like this. _Dragomon __**Mega**__ Digivolve to… Pukumon!"_

The DigiDestined gasped as they took in his Mega level form. Though he was now much smaller than before, he now resembled a lethal looking armor-clad mutant puffer fish, fully inflated, with large muscular arms instead of flippers.

"Well," he asked, "do you remember me now?"

TK glared at him. "Of course we remember you. And I also remember that the last time we met, sent you packing."

Fury blazed in Pukumon's red eyes. "Don't get cocky, boy! You simply caught me off guard when you began switching around your Armor Digivolutions. I admit that I underestimated you then, but now I'm ready for you. And here, in this world, in _my_ world, I am at my strongest. The darkness of this world has engraved itself into the deepest reaches of my Digi-Code. I am the darkness itself." His gaze shifted to Kari. "And you, little girl, will pay dearly for turning my servants against me and planning to dethrone me."

Kari took an involuntary step back. "What are you talking about? I did no such thing."

Pukumon sneered at her. "Don't lie to me, child of the light. There's nothing that goes on in this realm that I don't find out eventually. After you freed my servants from the Dark Spirals, they wanted you to overthrow me and become their queen." He chuckled evilly. "You were wise to refuse. Not just because challenging me would have been suicide, but also because of what my servants had intended. They wanted to breed with you and create a new race that would challenge my power."

A feeling of revulsion ran through Kari as she recalled how she had nearly been dragged away until Angewomon had drove off her attempted kidnappers. "They… They never said that."

Pukumon grinned. "Well, you won't need to worry about those poor fool any longer. I disposed of them myself. I have no need for disloyal servants, especially when I have plenty that are still faithful to me."

He snapped his fingers, and hideous creatures engulfed in darkness began to emerge from the black water and came onto the beach. Both Kari and TK had seen these creatures before; the Digimon that had been freed from the Dark Spirals had turned into them and tried to drag Kari off to be their queen, and apparently much more than that according to Pukumon.

Mimi backed away in disgust. "They're horrible! Are they even Digimon?"

Pukumon laughed. "They were Digimon, once. When my rule over the Dark Ocean first began, I selected a group of loyal Divermon to serve me. I filled them with darkness, mutated them to what you now see before you, and gave them the name Scubamon, for they are much more than the simple Divermon that they were before." His eyes narrowed. "It seems, however, that for a few of them, their loyalty had wavered a bit over time, otherwise they wouldn't have wanted to dethrone me. And after all I've done for them too. Good help is so hard to find these days, isn't it, Daemon?"

The Demon Lord chuckled. "Indeed it is. But you know what they say, if you want something done right…"

Pukumon smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Kill them yourself."

The Scubamon began to advance as Pukumon and Daemon floated overhead. The DigiDestined backed away from the eerie creatures that seemed to be made of darkness itself. Had these Scubamon really once been Divermon? Had they really once been Digimon at all? They seemed to be the stuff that nightmares were made of. And, truthfully, it was no surprise considering that they had been empowered by the evil in this place.

"W-We're not intimidated by you!" Tai declared, even as his voice trembled. "Go get them guys!"

"_Vee-Laser!"_

"_Hand of Fate!"_

"_Tail Hammer!"_

"_Blast Rings!"_

"_Spiking Strike!"_

"_Heaven's Charm!"_

"_Meteor Wing!"_

"_Needle Spray!"_

"_Electro Shocker!"_

"_Harpoon Torpedo!"_

"_Terra Force!"_

"_Metal Wolf Snout!"_

WarGreymon's attack flew at Daemon while MetalGarurumon's went to Pukumon. The other 10 were fired at the army of Scubamon, creating various explosions. Dust clouds rose from the ground as two more clouds of smoke obscured the two evil Mega Digimon.

"Direct hits!" Davis cried, punching the air. "How'd you like that?"

More evil mocking laughter followed as Daemon and Pukumon exited the clouds of smoke. "That was rather refreshing," the former remarked. He glanced at Pukumon. "How'd you servants enjoy it?"

Pukumon smirked. "Lets see."

He breathed down at the dust cloud, blowing it away to reveal the Scubamon. Three of them had been knocked off their feet by Angewomon's attack, but the others had withstood the rest.

"Seems like they're ready to go," Pukumon replied. "Did you foolish humans really think that that would work? Lets show them some real power. _Needle Squall!"_

The spines from his Chrondigizoit Metal helmet launched at MetalGarurumon. He attempted to maneuver around them, but they continued flying in a never-ending rain until he was struck down. He crashed into the ground, and the spikes stabbed down into the sand around him, pinning him in place.

Daemon rushed at WarGreymon, his larger left claw shooting out and wrapping around his neck. Bringing him down, he slammed the dragon Digimon into the ground, then took to the air.

"_Flame Inferno!"_

Fire rained down upon WarGreymon, and an agonized cry escaped him. He flew straight up to escape the flames, and Daemon was suddenly behind him, putting his fists together and punching with his _Hammer Knuckle_ attack, sending WarGreymon crashing to the ground again.

The Scubamon had their sights on Angewomon and the Champion level Digimon as they cried, _"Striking Fish!"_

Though they had no harpoons to throw, they held up their hands, and spears made of darkness flew out of their palms. With the dozens of Scubamon attacking at once, sending out numerous spears of darkness, even Angewomon was struck by one and fell from the sky.

Names were mixed together as they escaped the children's mouths. The Scubamon cackled along with the two evil Mega level Digimon at the ease in which they had defeated their opponents.

"You fools are even more pathetic than I remember," Daemon commented. "If you hand over Ken and the Dark Spore, I promise to give you all a quick death."

"Yes, _he_ will," Pukumon added, "after _I've_ had my fun with you."

"No way!" Davis shouted. "We're not done yet. Come on, everyone, let's take things to the next level."

Angewomon rose to her feet and DeDigivolved back to Gatomon. "Lets do it!"

There were flashes of light from all around as more Digivolution took place.

"_ExVeemon!"_

"_Stingmon!"_

"_**DNA**__ Digivolve to… Paildramon! Paildramon __**Mega**__ Digivolve to… Imperialdramon! Imperialdramon Mode Change to… Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"_

"_Aquilamon!"_

"_Gatomon!"_

"_**DNA**__ Digivolve to… Silphymon!"_

"_Ankylomon!"_

"_Angemon!"_

"_**DNA**__ Digivolve to… Shakkoumon!"_

"_WarGreymon!"_

"_MetalGarurumon!"_

"_**DNA**__ Digivolve to… Omnimon!"_

"_Birdramon Digivolve to… Garudamon!"_

"_Kabuterimon Digivolve to… MegaKabuterimon!"_

"_Togemon Digivolve to… Lillymon!"_

"_Ikkakumon Digivolve to… Zudomon!"_

This time Daemon sneered at them. "Now this looks familiar, though there are a few more of you here this time. I hope you've gotten stronger, otherwise this won't be that much fun."

"I'll show you fun!" Imperialdramon declared. "Daemon is mine, you guys. I've got a score to settle with him."

Omnimon looked at the other evil Mega. "Then I'll take care of Pukumon."

Silphymon pointed at the Scubamon. "Fine, we'll handle the rest of them."

Pukumon chuckled. "They make it sound so easy. They really don't have a clue. Finish them!"

There were cries on both sides as they charged at each other, some by air, the rest on foot. Yet before they could collide, almost as if it were symbolically meant to be, the sky shattered above them as if it were made of glass, directly over where they would have met.

On the other side of the shattered sky was the Digital World, rich and thriving, out of reach of the Dark Ocean. As mad as it was to leave that life-filled world for this dark dead one, someone came through the hole and entered the dark dimension.

DarkMagnamon had arrived.

**(A/N: Am I the only one who felt that the overly long Digivolutions in the anime were meant to take up time to fit the 30 something minute length of the episodes. And that's not just for **_**Digimon**_**, but for all anime that have characters that transform. That's so cheap, but also genius. Now then, onto this chapter. I assume you figured they would run into Daemon after my hint last chapter, but did you expect Dragomon to be there too? It's a real shame they never did anything with him in the show. They were going to, but decided to drop the idea and take the plot in a different direction. And if you'll remember, the Divermon that appeared in that episode were mistranslated as Scubamon. I fixed that translation problem by making their mutated forms have that name to differentiate them from normal Divermon. It's also true that they had intended to breed with Kari and start a new hybrid race with her in the Japanese dub, but that part was cut out of the English translation because it was considered to be too inappropriate. And speaking of the Japanese dub, there was also a post-series audio drama where the DigiDestined faced Pukumon. In it, they accidentally mixed up their D-Terminals, and their Digimon Armor Digivolved to different Armor levels because of it and were able to drive off Pukumon. Though it was never confirmed, I think that the Pukumon was the Mega level of the Dragomon that ruled the Dark Ocean. It would make sense, and it would also close the plot hole with Dragomon that was never expanded on. So, I hope that answered everyone's questions. If not, feel free to ask, and I'll answers as best as I can. See you next time.)**


	7. Chapter 7: Dark Data

**(A/N: We've got some real trouble afoot. DarkMagnamon has arrived in the Dark Ocean ready to unleash the Crest of Desolation's power, and the DigiDestined are already being confronted by Daemon, Pukumon, and an army of Scubamon, which are really Divermon infused with darkness. DarkMagnamon already trounced them once before, and now he's got a bunch of other evil Digimon to help him. Will the addition of the previous DigiDestined be enough to fight back, or will DarkMagnamon unleash the power of the Crest of Desolation? And if he does, will there be any hope of victory. Read on and see. You may end up with some more questions by the end, but I'll try to answer them.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 7: Dark Data**

Nobody moved, nobody spoke. All eyes were on DarkMagnamon, and his were on them. Behind him, the hole in the sky he had come through slowly closed, the light of the Digital World fading, leaving them in a dark fog once again.

DarkMagnamon's fists clenched. "So you've come to witness your doom in person, have you?"

"DarkMagnamon," Daemon cooed. "You're here. You've returned." His eyes widened in realization, and he began laughing. "So that's why you DigiDestined came here. I had wondered why you would be foolish enough to enter the Dark Ocean."

DarkMagnamon glanced at him. "Lord Daemon, it has been a while. I regret that I was not around to prevent the fall of the other Demon Lords, or my master, but now I have returned to fulfill my duty."

Pukumon was practically trembling with excitement as he stared at DarkMagnamon. "If he's come here, then that must mean that he has the Crest."

Daemon looked equally as excited, though he was more in control of himself. "Well, do you?"

Slowly, DarkMagnamon held out his hand, and the Crest of Desolation appeared in it. "It is here. With this, the darkness shall reign supreme."

"Not if we can help it!" Davis cried, pointing at him. "Quick, guys, get the Crest!"

Their Digimon immediately rushed towards DarkMagnamon. He closed his hand over the Crest, looking ready to fight.

"_Flame Inferno!"_ Daemon cried.

A stream of fire shot through the air, blocking the path of the Digimon, rising high enough to stop even those that could fly. Daemon and Pukumon flew in front of DarkMagnamon while the Scubamon gathered on the ground beneath them.

"Not so fast, DigiDestined," Daemon told them, "your fight is with us. DarkMagnamon has some work he needs to take care of."

"You'll have to get by us to get to him," Pukumon added with a wicked chuckle.

Tai's fists clenched. "Fine, then we'll take care of these guys first."

"I believe you'll find that to be more difficult than you think," said DarkMagnamon, holding up the Dark Crest. "Witness the power of the Crest of Desolation."

Black sparks of electricity began flowing over his body. One flowed into the Crest, and it began to glow with a black light. It rose out of his hand and began floating over his head, the black light growing in intensity.

A black bolt shot out of the Crest, striking Daemon. Another shot out and hit Pukumon. Both began glowing with the light of Digivolution as they were filled with the power of the Crest.

"_Daemon Digivolve to… Daemon, Super Ultimate Level!"_

"_Pukumon Slide Evolution… Neptunemon!"_

The light faded, and two new Digimon floated in place of Pukumon and Daemon. The latter had changed from a beastly monster to a horrific demon, and Pukumon had changed from a giant puffer fish to a godly merman-like being.

"Did you see that?" Garudamon asked. "What just happened?"

Daemon laughed. "I have Digivolved to the Super Ultimate level. I am now beyond the stage of a Mega. My name may not have changed, but my power certainly has. My _Algol's Flame_ attack will incinerate everything in its path, and my _Dark Spreader_ uses the Dark Virus to completely decimate my foes."

"And I am no longer Pukumon. I have become Neptunemon, the strongest of my Mega forms. As one of the Olympus Twelve Digimon, my power is far greater than that of your average Mega level."

This news was not happily accepted. The DigiDestined and their Digimon looked a lot less confident than they were a few moments ago.

"Guys, I think we're in series trouble," Silphymon muttered.

"This doesn't change anything," Imperialdramon replied. "We still have to beat them."

"On the contrary," said DarkMagnamon. "This changes everything."

He held out his arms. The black electricity that had been flowing over his body gathered in his hands and shot up towards the Crest of Desolation floating over his head. The black light grew in intensity and unleashed a beam of darkness up into the sky.

A black sphere appeared at the end of the beam and began growing. It grew at a rapid pace, increasing in size the more the Crest pumped dark energy into it. And as the DigiDestined looked on as the black sphere continued to expand, Digimon began appearing within it.

They weren't real Digimon, rather, they were the transparent blurry images of them, like holograms. Unmoving they stood, growing in number, each one containing the gathered data of an evil Digimon that had been destroyed in the past. The DigiDestined could see the holograms of the villains they had fought in the past, along with many others they hadn't, including the Demon Lords, and the number kept growing the larger the black sphere grew.

"Finally," Daemon awed, "it has begun. All the power lost to those that served the darkness upon their defeat, all of that data gathered together in one place. Once it's unleashed, all those that have fallen will rise to power, just as they had in the past."

"Even more so," Neptunemon pointed out. "They'll be even stronger than before, their power rising to the highest peak. As will those that still roam the Digital World today but have never managed to reach their prime, they shall Digivolve to the highest level as well. The process has already started."

His words were true. The DigiDestined looked on in horror as the holograms changed to the next level of the Digimon they represented. Parrotmon became Eaglemon, Devimon became NeoDevimon and then NeoVamdemon, Datamon became Raijinmon, MetalEtemon became KingEtemon, MetalSeadramon became GigaSeadramon and then ChaosMetalSeadramon, Puppetmon became AncientTroiamon, Machinedramon became HiMachinedramon and then Chaosdramon, and Piedmon became ChaosPiedmon.

The current generation of DigiDestined saw holograms of their own enemies change to the next level as well. Mummymon became Pharaohmon, and Arukenimon became Parasimon. Ken also recognized the Digivolved form of Kimeramon after he had gone to the past to absorb Machinedramon's data to Digivolve to Millenniummon. When he had first come to the Digital World as a child and was partnered with Wormmon, he and Ryo Akiyama, a DigiDestined from an alternate universe, had defeated the beast, and it was his body dissolving into Dark Spores that had caused one to be implanted in his neck that turned him into the Digimon Emperor. Now he looked on as Millenniummon became MoonMillenniummon and then ZeedMillenniummon, but without the bands of Fractal Code that suppressed his unstable power.

It also seemed that Gennai had been right in his assumption that Daemon's minions had been former Demon Lords. They watched as LadyDevimon became Laylamon, MarineDevimon became Leviamon, and SkullSatamon became Barbamon. Holograms of the other three were there as well. Impmon became Boogeymon then Reapmon then Beelzemon, and then went further to become Beelzemon Blast Mode and then Beelzemon X. And then they saw the leader, Lucemon in his Rookie form, and they watched as he became Lucemon Chaos Mode and then Lucemon Shadowlord Mode.

The evil Digimon that had already reached their prime were there as well. They spotted Apocalymon in his Creepy Mode, Armageddemon, the recently destroyed Reapermon, and countless other evil Digimon that they hadn't face. Tai and Davis also recognized the hologram of Quartzmon, ready to unleash its data and hatch the evil clock Digimon from his Digi-Egg and return him to full power.

DarkMagnamon spotted his creator's hologram among the growing number of Digimon within the black sphere. "My lord and master. You have Digivolved, oh great one. I shall very much look forward to seeing you returned to your most powerful, and I shall once again greet you as Lord MaloMyotismon."

"Not very likely!" Tai shouted.

They could not let that power be unleashed. It would be the end for them all. Even the evil Digimon they hadn't faced, hadn't even seen before, were growing in number, Digivolving to the next level. If the evil Digimon absorbed that data, the real things would become what those holograms represented. They would be overrun, and there would be no hope for any of them.

Neptunemon laughed. "And just what are you going to do about it, little human?"

"How about this for starters," said Omnimon as his sword slid down and his cannon popped out, the latter of which he aimed at Neptunemon. _"Supreme Cannon!"_

Neptunemon raised his hand. _"Wave of Depth!"_

Water materialized as he summoned a gigantic tidal wave. It flowed over him as the explosive ball of ice burst, freezing the entire wave with Neptunemon inside it. It didn't last long though as the evil Digimon broke through, sending shards of ice flying.

"Pitiful," he grumbled.

Down on the ground, the Scubamon reacted very violently. "How dare you attack our master!" one of them shouted, and leapt at Omnimon. _"Hell Dive!"_

"_Static Force!"_ Silphymon shouted, throwing a ball of energy.

The Scubamon was blasted out of the sky, but managed to land on its feet.

"You're fight is with us," Silphymon told them. "It's Ultimates against Ultimates, and Megas against Megas."

Daemon sneered. "Then where does that leave me? I've gone beyond the Mega level." His eyes settled on the one that had dared to challenge him earlier. "I suppose I'll have to settle for you. _Algol's Flame!"_

He spewed out an orb of fire. Imperialdramon flew up to avoid the flame, only to find Daemon in his path, grinning at him.

"_Double Duster!"_

He punched with fists filled with dark magic, and Imperialdramon dropped like a rock.

"Imperialdrmon!" Omnimon cried, and made a go for him.

"_Vortex Penetrate!"_ Neptunemon shouted, throwing his spear.

Omnimon halted as the spear whizzed by, nearly skewering him. He looked at Neptunemon, who shook a finger at him.

"Uh, uh, big guy. Your fight is with me. Leave the others to their own toys."

"Omnimon, behind you!" Matt shouted.

Omnimon glanced over his shoulder to see Neptunemon's spear speeding back towards him. He dodged, letting it pass by, but was surprised to see it make a U-turn in the air ad come back at him again.

"Meet my sentient spear, King's Bite," Neptunemon mocked. "It literally has a mind of its own, and once it's launched, it won't be satisfied until it skewers something. And it looks like its target is you."

Omnimon quickly flew out of the spear's path, only to have it follow him. Within moments, he was playing a game of tag with the living weapon, and no amount of fancy maneuvering could get it to stop following him.

"Enough of this," he growled, turning around as he continued to fly away. _"Double Shot!"_

A blast of fire flew from the WarGreymon head on his hand while a blast of ice flew from the MetalGarurumon head. The result produced an explosion of fire and ice that the spear maneuvered around to continue its pursuit, and Omnimon barely managed to dodge in time as the spear tore a hole through his cape.

"Well that didn't work," he grumbled as the spear came back around. He glanced at Neptunemon. "But it gives me an idea."

He flew towards Neptunemon, and the spear followed close behind. Neptunemon laughed as Omnimon approached, easily figuring out his strategy.

"Do you really think that will work on me?" he mocked. "What a pathetic and childish trick."

Omnimon's eyes narrowed. _"Sword of Rain!"_

He swiped his sword, tearing the air, and an explosion followed over the area he swiped. Neptunemon recoiled in surprise from the attack as the smoke obscured his vision.

What had seemed to be a lame trick had become a lethal strategy as Omnimon flew up, but the spear kept coming.

"Rise, you fool!" Neptunemon shouted, and the spear quickly shot up after Omnimon. Neptunemon's eyes flashed dangerously, furious at how his attack was almost used against him. "You'll pay for that. _Wave of Depth!"_

Another massive wave rose in front of Omnimon. Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the wall of water, he halted and instinctually hovered away from it. It was a good thing he had too as the spear grazed his shoulder, piercing his armor, the small movement having been just enough to avoid getting impaled.

"That does it," Omnimon seethed as the spear came back around. _"Transcendent Sword!"_

He swung his sword, the blade making contact with the spear, sending it spinning away. Taking aim, he pointed his cannon at it as the spear came for him again.

"_Supreme Cannon!"_

He fired a direct hit when the spear was moments away from striking him, and it fell from the sky, frozen solid. But it suddenly pulled out of its drop and flew into Neptunemon's open hand. Gripping his spear, he stomped it on the ground, shattering the ice coating it.

He sneered at Omnimon. "Pretty impressive for a human's pet. Not just anyone can deflect my spear once I've set it loose."

"I can take anything you dish out."

Amusement danced in Neptunemon's eyes. "Is that so? Because I think you really have no idea just what it is you're dealing with. Let me show you."

He raised his arms, and the shadows all around seemed to move towards him, entering his body. He grew over twice as large, and his skin became darker and seemed to lose some of its color as his eyes began glowing red and a black aura surrounded him.

"Do you see now? I'm no ordinary Digimon, not even an ordinary Neptunemon. I rule the Dark Ocean as the Undersea Master. The darkness has taken route in my DigiCode. It has become a part of me, and I a part of it. I _am_ the darkness!"

He suddenly shot through the air at Omnimon, appearing directly in front of him. Omnimon swung his sword, but Neptunemon easily blocked it with his spear.

He didn't attack back, not directly. Instead, the darkness acted for him. His aura grew and formed into the shape of a hand that smacked him away. And as Omnimon went flying, the black aura burst outward, flying towards him and flowing over his body. The darkness took hold of him, and he was thrown to the ground by the aura as Neptunemon laughed up above.

While the other Ultimate level Digimon fought on near equal ground with the Scubamon, Imperialdramon was having a much more difficult time with Daemon. Having achieved a rarely reached level beyond even that of a Mega, Daemon greatly held the advantage over the dragon Digimon.

"_Positron Laser!"_

Daemon laughed and easily smacked away the blast of energy. He flew through the air towards Imperialdramon and kicked him backwards. And before he could even stop his momentum, Daemon had caught up and passed him, slashing with his _Slash Nail_ attack.

Imperialdramon grunted in pain and moved away from him. Daemon just sneered at the dragon Digimon arrogantly. "You do realize you have no chance, don't you? You couldn't even scratch me in my normal Mega form, let alone my Beast Mode. Now, with me at the Super Ultimate level, you haven't got a prayer."

"You talk too much," Imperialdramon told him. _"Splendor Blade!"_

Creating a sword of light, he swiped it at the Demon Lord, but Daemon easily caught the blade with his bare hand and crushed it, causing the sword to disperse.

"_Chaos Flare!"_

The attack blasted Imperialdramon backwards. He hit the ground and skidded across the beach, leaving a deep groove behind.

Landing a distance away, Daemon crossed his arms. "I don't understand why you persist this pointless battle. Clearly you can't beat me. When we last met, you and your friends didn't land a single blow, and only sealed me away because you impressed me, so I let you win. But I'm not pulling any punches this time. You and your friends are going to die. So why not just make it easier on yourselves and surrender. It will be a lot less painful for all of you."

Imperialdramon struggled to pull himself out of the groove. "Forget it. We're not giving up, not now, not ever. So you might as well stop asking; it won't get you anywhere."

Daemon growled irritably. He already knew he had them beat; he'd known it before the battle even started, but he wanted his opponents to know it too. There was nothing more satisfying than seeing the hope in his nemeses' eyes disappear when they realized the futility of the situation and gave up. He loved crushing his opponents' spirits, and he wanted to see the despair overcome Imperialdramon when he realized he had failed.

"Your stubbornness is admirable, however, it's now becoming a nuisance. I'll have you begging on your knees soon enough."

Imperialdramon's chest opened up to produce his ultimate weapon. "Beg for this. _Giga Crusher!"_

The massive energy wave burst forth, heading straight for the Demon Lord. Daemon's eyes narrowed and he braced himself for the attack. Filling his hands with dark magic, he held them out and caught the attack. It forced him backwards, his feet digging deeply into the sand as he hit the water, getting pushed back further and further until he was no longer seen. And when the attack died down and then walls of water fell, there was no sign of the Demon Lord.

Imperialdramon stood on the beach breathing heavily, wishfully thinking that it was all over. "Well, looks like that one got him."

But no sooner had he spoken the words, something came out of the Dark Ocean, Not on the surface, but moving underground, pushing up the sand like a burrowing groundhog. It moved fast, going beneath Imperialdramon's feet.

The sand exploded behind him as Daemon burst up from underground. He sneered at the dragon Digimon before unleashing his attack.

"_Alogol's Flame!"_

The massive orb of fire flew from his mouth, blasting Imperialdramon through the air. Engulfed in flames, he fell into the Dark Ocean.

Even through the painful burning of the attack, Imperialdramon knew right away that this was not ordinary water. It was too cold for the temperature in the air, far too cold to not have frozen in ice. There was also a feeling of despair, as if the ocean itself were the tears from the eyes of those that had suffered and died in the worst possible ways imaginable.

But worst of all was the feeling of pure evil. The darkness was overwhelming, as if he were swimming in the purest of evil in liquid form. It instantly overpowered whatever pain was caused by Daemon's attack, and the only thought in his mind was to get out of the water as fast as he possibly could.

Breaking the surface, he emerged from the Dark Ocean to be greeted by Daemon. The Demon Lord's hand shot out, grabbing Imperialdramon by the face and squeezing tightly.

"You are beaten," he declared, "and I have grown tired of waiting for you to realize it. And to think that you had the gall to boast that you were stronger than any other Digimon. Yes, I have heard of your foolishly boastful claim from when you first reached your Mega level. That was quite arrogant of you, my friend. There are numerous Digimon stronger than even the strongest of your kind, and I am one of them. Why, even the weakest of my fellow Demon Lords could easily pick you apart with little to no effort. And now that I've become more powerful than any of them, you can't even provide me with enough of a challenge to amuse me."

He brought the dragon Digimon closer as Imperialdramon tried to break his grip. "You're weak, pathetic, utterly worthless compared to the power of the Demon Lords. I can't wait for you to meet my comrades. Next to them, you are nothing." A sinister smile appeared on his face. "But that's not to say you couldn't have your uses. I think I could find a way that you could aid us."

H pushed Imperialdramon down, submerging him into the Dark Ocean. Imperialdramon struggled, but could not escape from Daemon's superior strength.

"Yes, that's it, bathe in the Dark Ocean," Daemon told him. "Let the darkness in. Let it find the darker part of your data and bring it out. Allow it to corrupt you just as it did with me. Give in, and become a servant to the darkness."

Imperialdramon couldn't hear him under the water or over his struggles, but he could feel the darkness penetrating his body, entering his DigiCode. It was calling out to the darkness within him, drawing it out, urging him to give in. He could feel it taking over, and his struggles slowly ceased.

Darkness began to overcome him, and he found himself unwillingly beginning to Slide Evolution. His old self began to be buried deep within himself as he slowly became BlackImperialdramon.

Up above, Daemon grinned as he witnessed the transformation. "Excellent. Soon you will be one of us; another servant of the darkness."

"_Kachina Bombs!"_

"_Static Force!"_

"_Wing Blade!"_

"_Flower Wreath!"_

"_Horn Buster!"_

"_Vulcan's Hammer!"_

The attacks bombarded against Daemon's back. He released BlackImperialdramon and turned to the source. The DigiDestined's partner Digimon were standing on the shore, having defeated the last of the Scubamon. Now they were turning their attention on him.

"How amusing," he said with a sneer. "The brave little warriors want to play. Very well, lets play." He raised his hand, and a static filled black mist formed in his palm. _"Dark Spreader!"_

Beneath the icy water, BlackImperialdramon stared up at Daemon with hooded eyes as he watched the Demon Lord about to unleash the Dark Virus. On the shore, he could see the blurry images of his friends through the water about to be on the receiving end of the attack.

"No…" he whispered. "No…"

A feeling of protectiveness for those he cared about filled him, chasing away the darkness. He felt his strength return as he changed back from BlackImperialdramon to Imperialdramon once again.

"Get away from them!"

He burst up from under the water, surprising Daemon enough to cease his attack. He grabbed the Demon Lord from behind, wrapping his arms around him.

Looking unconcerned, Daemon just smirked. "So you've managed to overcome the darkness. Impressive. But what are you going to do now?"

"Take you down," Imperialdramon told him. "No matter what it takes."

His chest opened, and Daemon's eyes widened as he felt Imperialdramon's gun press into his back.

"What are you doing?" he cried with a hint of fear. "If you fire that thing at this close range, we'll both go down."

"I told you," Imperialdramon replied, "no matter what it takes. _Giga Crusher!"_

The sky lit up in a massive explosion, consuming everything, including Daemon and Imperialdramon.

**(A/N: Boom! A point-blank hit by Imperialdramon's **_**Giga Crusher**_**. That's got to be unpleasant. Will either Daemon or Imperialdramon survive? Can Imperialdramon survive his own attack? Will being at the Super Ultimate level make Daemon strong enough to withstand the blast head on? Super Ultimate or not, that is one POWERFUL attack. And what of Neptunemon? He may even be worse than Daemon while infused with the power of the Dark Ocean. And all the while, DarkMagnamon is gathering a bunch of dark data to spread to other evil Digimon. Speaking of which, I may have confused a few people with the part with Ken and Millenniummon. Let me explain, Millenniummon was born from the DNA Digivolution of Kimeramon and Machinedramon, yes, the Dark Master. After Magnamon defeated Kimeramon, his data survived and traveled to the past to merge with Machinedramon's data. Becoming Millenniummon. With the original DigiDestined back in the real world, Both Ken and Ryo, from Season 3, were brought to the Digital World to stop him. When they did, Millenniummon's body broke down into the Dark Spores, which infected Ken. We saw this in a flashback, but the full story takes place in video game series. Talk about a time paradox; a Dark Spore turned Ken into the Digimon Emperor, thus he created Kimeramon, then Kimeramon went to the past and become Millenniummon, only to turn into the Dark Spore that infected Ken. If that doesn't blow your mind, I'm not sure what will. Oh, how about the fact that Ryo's Cyberdramon is actually Millenniummon reborn? Yup, it's true. There's a lot of side story stuff and connections in the Digimon-Verse that are expanded on in the games and manga that are all kept in canon. But lets not get into that now; though if you want to know more, you can message me.)**


	8. Chapter 8: Shining Through The Darkness

**(A/N: Ok, the suspense is over. Now we'll see who, if anyone, survived Imperialdramon's _Giga Crusher_, and what will be left of them if they did. Then we'll see what happens with Neptunemon and DarkMagnamon. Will he unleash a horde of evil Digimon, or will the DigiDestined find a way to stop him?)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 8: Shining Through The Darkness**

The cries from their friends went by unheard over the sound of Imperialdramon's attack. Even DarkMagnamon glanced in the direction of the blast, but appeared unconcerned that the last of the Demon Lords was caught up in there as he continued feeding the Crest of Desolation with dark power.

When the explosion finally died down, the remnants of Daemon's data were seen floating around before they disappeared. Imperialdramon was nowhere to be seen. It seemed he had finally managed to defeat Daemon, but he had sacrificed himself in order to do it.

Davis and Ken shouted at the empty air in horror. Their partner Digimon were gone. Destroyed. The feeling was one of total dread and despair. For Ken, he was reliving Wormmon's death all over again, and it left him feeling frozen inside.

Davis, however, felt completely numb. His best friend in two worlds had died right in front of him. The thought of it was incomprehensible. Was this what it felt like for TK when Angemon had sacrificed himself to defeat Devimon? And back then, they hadn't known that Digimon were reborn after they died; TK had thought his friend was gone for good. But even knowing that Veemon would return to him one day did nothing to lessen the pain.

"Veemon!" he shouted.

"Wormmon!" Ken cried with equal despair.

None of them expected it when their cries were met with replies.

"We're here! Give us a hand!"

Davis blinked the tears out of his eyes, looking in the direction of the voice. "Veemon?"

There in the Dark Ocean, Veemon and Wormmon splashed around as they tried getting to the shore and out of the evil liquid.

"Get us out of this water!" Veemon shouted.

Silphymon flew out and scooped up the two Digimon. Bringing them to shore, she set them down, and they were immediately embraced by Davis and Ken.

"Oh, Wormmon," the latter wept. "I thought I had lost you again."

Davis, however, had angry tears in his eyes, and he broke the embrace to pinch and pull apart the blue Digimon's cheeks. "What was that about? You scared us!"

Grunting in pain, Veemon smacked his hands away from his cheeks. "I suppose that's your way of saying you care."

Silphymon looked down at them curiously. "But how'd you survive that blast?"

"Simple," Wormmon replied. "We separated immediately after firing our attack to avoid getting caught up in it. The shockwave helped knock us away from the explosion too."

Ken wiped his tears. "That was brilliant, Wormmon. You're a genius."

"Hey!" Veemon cried. "I was in there as well. I helped come up with that idea too."

Tai cleared his throat. "Um, guys, I'm glad your partners are ok, but if we don't get some help over here, Matt and I really are gonna lose ours!"

The looked up to Omnimon, who was still at Neptunemon's mercy. The black aura surrounding him acted as a living entity as it wrapped around Omnimon, holding him in midair. Neptunemon had unleashed his _Gate of Atlantis_ attack, and a portal similar to MagnaAngemon's _Gate of Destiny_ had appeared to unleash a large continuous stream of high-pressured water upon Omnimon, not giving him the opportunity to breath from the water flowing over his head.

"Ok," said Veemon, "you ready for round two, Wormmon?"

The caterpillar Digimon nodded. "You got it."

Ken glanced at Wormmon nervously. "Are you sure you guys can still fight?"

"No problem," Veemon answered for both of them. "We still got plenty of fight left in us. Come on, Wormmon, lets do it. _Veemon!"_

"_Wormmon!"_

"_**Warp DNA**__ Digivolve to… Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"_ With his Digivolution complete, he turned to the others. "Lets fillet this fish!"

He soared towards Neptunemon with the others close behind. Out of the corner of his eye, the sea god Digimon saw them coming. Whirling around, he stopped the flow of water and commanded the darkness to throw Omnimon at them, and the Royal Knight Digimon went crashing into Imperialdramon, both ending up back in the sand.

"You dare to challenge me?" he demanded. "Fools! I can't be defeated by the likes of you! I control the darkness itself!"

He raised his hands, and tendrils of darkness flew out of his black aura. They wrapped around the necks of the other Digimon, strangling them. They each clawed at their necks, but their hands went right through the tendrils as if they were made of vapor.

Neptunemon laughed. "You can't defeat the darkness, especially not on its own turf. You might as well try to extinguish an active volcano with a squirt gun. You may have stood a chance in the Digital World where the forces of light can combat the darkness on equal grounds, but there is no light here."

Down on the beach, Kari raised her voice. "You're wrong!"

Neptunemon glanced at her. "What's that, child?"

"I said you're wrong. There is light here." She held up her Digivice. "I am the light!"

Her Digivice lit up, shining brightly, but Neptunemon merely scoffed at her, looking unimpressed. "You're little light can do nothing more than die out."

TK immediately came to Kari's side and held up his Digivice. "No it won't! I am the hope that powers the light!"

Realizing what the two were doing, Tai glanced at Matt. The blonde nodded in understanding, and they went to stand by their siblings.

"I am the courage that provides the strength to continue!" Tai declared, holding up his Digivice.

Matt held his up as well. "I am the friendship that ties us all together!"

One by one, the DigiDestined joined their friends, holding up their Digivices and making their own declarations. The light from them shined brighter, and their Digimon were released from the black aura as they began to glow, causing the darkness to retreat.

Neptunemon recoiled away from the light as his aura shrank until it settled around him once again. "What is this power? It's counteracting the darkness! That's impossible! This can't be happening! Nothing can beat the darkness; not here, not in my realm!"

Omnimon climbed to his feet, feeling his strength returning. "Your darkness can't defeat us. Even the smallest bit of light will penetrate the darkness every time." He pointed his cannon at Neptunemon. "Now feel the power of the light. _Omega Blast!"_

He fired with greater power than that of the _Supreme Cannon_. Neptunemon raised his arms, and a wall of water rose above him to block the attack. The subzero blast exploded against the giant wave, freezing it solid into a wall of ice.

A shadow moved above him, and Neptunemon looked up just in time to see Imperialdramon fly overhead. _"Positron Laser!"_

Neptunemon cried out as the attack hit. Before he could retaliate, there was movement from his right side as Garudamon circled around the wall of ice. _"Fire Hurricane!"_

A tornado of fire surrounded him. He growled furiously as the flames burned his flesh, and he summoned up another tidal wave to extinguish the fire. But the moment the wave dropped back down, Silphymon was there. _"Astral Laser!"_

She sent out a duplicate of her body made of pure energy. Neptunemon made the mistake of thinking it was actually her attempting a direct physical blow and attacked it, only to have it blast against him.

Shakkoumon used the opportunity to fly overhead. _"Justice Beam!"_

He fired lasers from his eyes down at Neptunemon, who had not yet recovered from Silphymon's attack. As the laser's struck him, Zudomon leapt off Shakkoumon's back and fell down towards him. _"Thor Hammer!"_

He slammed his hammer over Neptunemon's head as he passed by on the way down and landed on MegaKabuterimon's back as the insect Digimon passed by while firing his own attack. _"Mega Blaster!"_

Neptunemon cried out as he was electrified just as Lillymon came flying around from the opposite side of the wall of ice. _"Flower Cannon!"_

The attack was a direct hit to Neptunemon's face. Seething with fury, he raised his spear to strike the closest of his opponents. That's when the wall of ice shattered as Omnimon burst right through it. Neptunemon turned to him and raised his spear, but Omnimon was faster. _"Transcendent Sword!"_

He slashed Neptunemon as he passed by. A blood-curdling scream escaped the evil Digimon, and his black aura faded away as he clutched his wound. Slowly, his body began to break down, his data scattering from where he was slashed and spreading outward.

"You're finished," Omnimon declared.

But then, quite unexpectedly, Neptunemon began to laugh. He turned to the others with a sinister smile on his face, even as his body disappeared. "Finished? Me? I think not. You may have beaten me for now, but I'm far from defeated."

He pointed to the black sphere filled with the holograms of countless evil Digimon. "Once that data is unleashed, my Digi-Egg will hatch right away, and I'll immediately return to my full power, and with a new army of evil Mega level Digimon behind me. All you've done is merely delayed my victory for a few minutes. I'll come back as strong as ever, and then I'll be victorious. You fools have won nothing!"

And he faded away, laughing all the while. His data vanished, but it rematerialized I the form of yet another hologram within the black sphere, which was now several times larger than it had been before the DigiDestined had taken their eyes off it. The Super Ultimate level of Daemon had appeared in it as well, along with many more evil Digimon.

Garudamon's fists clenched. "He's right. If that power is unleashed, everything we've done until now will have been for naught."

Omnimon took aim at the black sphere. "Then lets take care of this right now. _Supreme Cannon!"_

He fired, but the ball of ice passed right through the black sphere as if it wasn't there at all.

"It didn't work," said Shakkoumon, pointing out the obvious. His eyes settled on DarkMagnamon. "Guess we better go for the source. _Kachina Bombs!"_

Explosive clay disks flew from his waist at DarkMagnamon, but as soon as they got close, the black electricity dancing over his body leapt off him and struck the disks, causing them to explode.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Lillymon cried.

Silphymon stepped forth. "Perhaps a less physical attack will work. _Static Force!"_

But just like before, the electricity moved to defend DarkMagnamon once again, stopping the attack before it could reach him.

"Your attacks are useless," DarkMagnamon told them. "You can't even get close."

"The we better bust out the big guns," Imperialdramon replied as his chest opened up. _"Giga Crusher!"_

It was the same as before. The black electricity stopped the attack, but not the explosion that followed, and they were all blinded by the light the blast emitted.

"That had to do it," Cody said confidently.

But no, it didn't. When the light faded, the black electricity was flying all around DarkMagnamon. The blast hadn't even reached him among all the black bolts.

"It's futile," said DarkMagnamon. "Once the process has started, it can't be stopped. In a little while, darkness will take over this world, and I shall make sure my master rules all."

"Not on my watch," Omnimon declared. "If our attacks can't get through, then we'll just have to go in there ourselves."

He flew towards DarkMagnamon. The electricity came at him, and he cried out as it flowed through his body. But he pushed aside the pain and forced himself to go on. The pain became worse the closer he got, and it became harder to move forward, as if a powerful force was pushing him back.

Finally, he could go on no longer, and was thrown away from DarkMagnamon, splashing down into the Dark Ocean.

"Whoa," Imperialdramon cried. "Hold on, buddy, I'll get you out of there." He went down and helped Omnimon out of the water. "You ok? That water is some nasty stuff; believe me, I know."

Omnimon grunted. "I couldn't even get close to him."

"Then maybe we should all try at the same time," MegaKabuterimon suggested.

"Good idea," Zudomon agreed, "lets go!"

All the Ultimate level Digimon rushed towards DarkMagnamon while Imperialdramon helped fly Omnimon back to shore. The black electricity shot out as they got close. It was much worse than they thought, and most were knocked back almost instantly. The DNA Digivolved Digimon were able to last a few seconds longer, but they too were tossed away.

Crashing to the ground, they each lost hold of their Ultimate levels, dropping down to their In-Training levels. Only Patamon and Salamon were able to hold their Rookie forms.

"It doesn't matter how many of you come at me," DarkMagnamon declared. "There's nothing you can do to stop this from happening."

"Well, I haven't tried yet," said Imperialdramon as he set down Omnimon. "Lets see how close I can get."

And then he was flying at DarkMagnamon, and the electricity was attacking him. He grunted in pain, but was determine to keep going. Ignoring the pain, he kept going, and even got closer than Omnimon had.

"You can do it!" Davis cried.

"Just keep it up, Imperialdramon!" Ken encouraged.

The dragon Digimon forced himself to go on. "I… will… I won't… ever give up… I… Aw, nuts."

He felt it before it happened. The electricity became stronger, and he was sent flying. He nearly fell on the children, who had scattered before he landed on top of them.

"Man, that packs a wallop," he muttered.

DarkMagnamon hovered closer to them, bringing the massive black sphere along with him. "It's over DigiDestined. You have lost. It's close now; I can feel it. The dark power is about to be unleashed. Victory is at hand."

Omnimon forced himself to his feet. "Not yet it's not." He looked at the fallen dragon Digimon. "Come on, Imperialdramon. You have to get up. Only you can do this. I give you all my power so you can reach the pinnacle of yours. Now take this guy down."

His body began glowing, and Koramon and Tsunamon dropped out of it. The glowing body of Omnimon dissolved into data, and it flowed into Imperialdramon, who began glowing.

"I feel your power," he said. _"Imperialdramon Mode Change to… Imperialdramon Paladin Mode!"_

Now the living image of a white knight, Imperialdramon rose to his feet, grasping Omnimon's sword.

"Right, one last time," he declared, and flew towards DarkMagnamon.

It was no less painful than before, and the closer he got, the more painful it became, the more the unseen force tried to push him back. He passed the spot Omnimon had reached faster than he had last time, and even got closer than he did during his first attempt.

"Keep going guys!" Davis shouted. "You're almost there!"

"Goooooo!" Ken cried.

He was close enough to reach DarkMagnamon, and the evil Digimon glared at him. With his hands occupied with providing the Crest of Desolation with power, he lashed out with his feet.

"_Dark Kick!"_

Imperialdramon just barely managed to avoid the kick as he swung his sword. _"Omni Sword!"_

The blade sliced through the air, striking the Crest of Desolation. The Crest shattered, its broken pieces scattering into data. There was an explosion of energy, and both DarkMagnamon and Imperialdramon were sent flying.

Up above, the black sphere stopped growing. For a few moments, it simply hovered in the air, but then it began to pixelate as static seemed to spread throughout it. The holograms of the evil Digimon inside began to blur and become distorted until they all merged together into one large blurry image. The black sphere began fading away, growing fainter and fainter until it, and the data of the evil Digimon, completely vanished.

"They did it," Sora whispered in awe. "The data DarkMagnamon gathered is gone."

"All right!" Davis cried. "Way to go!" He looked to where Imperialdramon had fallen. "Hey, you ok?"

Groaning, the dragon Digimon sat up. "I think so. Did we really do it?"

Ken nodded proudly. "Yup, those evil Digimon won't be coming back, and those that are still out there won't be getting any stronger."

"And we'll make sure they never come back at all!" Davis declared. "They can just stay in their Baby and In-Training forms forever."

TK stepped forward. "It's not over yet. We've still got DarkMagnamon to deal with."

Davis blinked. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot." He looked around. "Um, where'd he go anyway?"

Imperialdramon looked around as well. "Um, I think he's…"

There was an explosion from within the Dark Ocean, and DarkMagnamon emerged.

"Oh, there he is."

The evil Digimon rose into the air, his eyes glowing red as he shook with fury. He roared with rage as he directed his wrath at the DigiDestined. "You meddling insects! You've ruined everything! Now you will pay with your lives!"

Imperialdramon stepped forward. "Yeah, like we've never heard that one be-"

He was cut off as DarkMagnamon suddenly rushed towards him, his fist glowing with black magic as he delivered a _Dark Punch_ to the dragon Digimon's face. He stumbled backwards as DarkMagnamon circled around him and delivered a kick to his back.

Imperialdramon planted his foot down to stop his momentum and whirled around. "My turn now. _Omni Sword!"_

He swung the massive sword, but, to everyone's shock, DarkMagnamon caught the blade, his hands clamping down on the top and bottom of the flat side of the blade. He was clearly struggling against Imperialdramon's strength, yet he had still been able to hold off the attack.

Kicking upward. DarkMagnamon knocked the sword out of Imperialdramon's hands, sending it flying upward. _"Dark Magna Bolt!"_

Imperialdramon cried out as he was electrified with black electricity. That's when the Omni Sword came dropping back down from the sky. DarkMagnamon caught it, hugging the giant sword to his body. He swung the sword, slashing Imperialdramon across the chest, sending him crashing to the ground.

Grunting in pain, he forced himself up, and his chest opened up. _"Giga Crusher!"_

DarkMagnamon began spinning around. He threw the giant sword, and it tore through the blast, cutting through the attack, and causing it to pass by its target. Imperialdramon gasped as the sword buried point first in the ground, nearly skewering him.

"_Dark Blaster!"_ DarkMagnamon cried, launching rockets from within his armor.

Grabbing his sword, the dragon Digimon took to the air as the ground exploded where he had been lying. _"Super Positron Laser!"_

The attack came at him, but DarkMagnamon used his _Dark Barrier_ to shield himself and flew through the blast itself to suddenly end up right in front of his nemesis.

Imperialdramon moved back in surprise, but then his eyes narrowed and he lashed out again. _"Omni Sword!"_

"_Dark Kick!"_

Combined with the black aura from his _Dark Barrier_, DarkMagnamon's foot collided with the blade in a stalemate.

Imperialdramon's hand quickly shot out, grabbing the evil knight Digimon. "Got you now!"

"_Dark Magna Eruption!"_

It was the same attack that had nearly finished him the last time they fought, and Imperialdramon recognized it before the dark sphere exploded from DarkMagnamon's body.

"Oh, crap…" he muttered, just before the dark energy burst forth.

The blast completely consumed him, spreading out hundreds of yards in the air. The DigiDestined looked on in horror as the darkness swallowed up their friend.

Two small shapes fell out of the dark sphere. The blue one was Chibomon and the green one was Leafmon, the Baby levels of Veemon and Wormmon. Their friends rushed to them to see if they were all right as the attack from up above died down.

"Leafmon, hang in there," Ken begged.

"Chibomon," said Davis, "are you ok? Say something."

The small blue Digimon groaned and opened his eyes. "Why is everything spinning around?"

"I have a headache," Leafmon muttered.

There were sighs of relief from all around, but it soon gave way to grief.

"I can't believe he was able to defeat Imperialdramon while he was in his Paladin Mode," Yolei muttered.

"How can we beat him if even our strongest Digimon can't stand up to him?" Cody wondered out loud.

There was a _thud_ as DarkMagnamon landed a distance away. "You can't. You're too weak. You're all too weak to defeat me."

Matt glared at him. "Don't be so sure. Just because you got the jump on us for now doesn't mean we've lost."

"That's right," Tai agreed. "We've beaten guys much worse than you. Us original DigiDestined defeated Apocalymon, and the newer ones defeated your master while he was at his strongest. Together we managed to stop you from resurrecting them and all the other evil Digimon."

"A setback, for sure," DarkMagnamon agreed. "But if I cannot return my master to power, and he cannot rule this world as he was meant to, the I'll just destroy the host computer and wipe out this whole world! But you won't be around to see it this time! _Dark Magna Eruption!"_

The blast of dark energy erupted outward again. With their Digimon unable to fight back, and the attack coming too fast to outrun, it seemed there was no escape.

It was no secret that Digimon of a higher level could easily crush lower level Digimon, but those at the In-Training and Baby level needed ways to defend themselves against stronger ones. It was for this reason that nearly all of them had the attack _Bubble Blow_. But these were no ordinary bubbles, they were used to absorb and neutralize the attacks of other Digimon. And so Koromon, Tsunomon, Bukamon, Motimon, Yokomon, Upamon, Poromon, and Tanemon all jumped in front of their friends and began blowing bubbles.

A wall of pink transparent spheres bunched up in front of them as DarkMagnamon's attack came. It slammed into the wall of bubbles, and they immediately began popping. The In-Training Digimon continued to produce more, holding off the attack, but it was clear that the dark energy would reach them soon enough.

"We have to do something!" Kari cried. "At this rate, they won't be able to hold him off for long!"

Chibomon attempted to join the others. "I can… help…" He produced a single bubble before collapsing. "Or not."

"We need to get out of here right now," said Izzy as the attack came closer. "Otherwise we're goners."

"But there's no place to open a DigiPort," Mimi pointed out.

Joe grabbed his hair, messing it up. "We're all gonna die!"

Ken looked at his Digivice. "Maybe not. If I can open a doorway to the Dark Ocean, maybe I can open one leading out of it."

"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast!" Salamon cried. "The attack is getting closer!"

"Maybe this will help," said Patamon. _"Boom Bubble!"_

The blast of air burst from him and hit the darkness, but accomplished nothing, and they were still losing ground as the wall of bubbles got smaller and smaller; the Digimon just couldn't replenish the bubbles fast enough.

TK glanced at Ken. "Do you think you can really open a portal?"

Ken nodded. "It stands to reason that the door should go both ways. And it shouldn't be as difficult for me opening one out as it was in."

He raised his Digivice and light burst from it. But the light soon vanished as the wall of bubbles finally dispersed and the dark energy consumed everything.

**(A/N: Another cliffhanger. Kind of. It's a close call. For now, Daemon and Neptunemon have been destroyed, along with the the Crest of Desolation. A major victory for the good guys. That still leaves the powerful and destructive DarkMagnamon behind, and he's not about to stop his evil ways. Now he's planning on simply destroying the entire Digital World. How's he going to do that, and will the DigiDestined be able to stop him? We'll see****.)**


	9. Chapter 9: The Digimon God

**(A/N: Before we get started, I should mention something. When DarkMagnamon was fueling the Crest of Desolation, it wasn't his own power he was pouring into it. He just absorbed the dark energy from the Dark Ocean and poured it into the Crest, acting as a medium of sorts. He's strong, but not THAT strong. I guess you can think of it like the way Calumon unleashes his Digivolution power. Under different circumstances, Imperialdramon Paladin Mode probably could have fought against him on equal ground, but he was greatly weakened due to the Crest of Desolation's power and his battle with Daemon. That's just to give you a general idea of power comparison, but now Wormmon and Veemon are too tired and weak to become Imperialdramon again, leaving them in quite the predicament. Anyway,**** for this chapter, we're getting another history lesson. This one is about the origin of the Digital World and, as the chapter title indicates, the Digimon god. DarkMagnamon mentioned something very important last chapter that you may have overlooked, but I'll be brining it up this chapter.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 9: The Digimon God**

"You're on my leg!"

"You're on my arm!"

"Who's sitting on my back?"

"Mmm! Mmm, mmmm!"

At the same time, all twelve DigiDestined and their Digimon had come spilling out of the computer, ending up in a big dog-pile. Struggling to get up, they ended up crawling all over each other until they were able to stand on their own two feet again.

"That was too close for comfort," Cody muttered. "Good work in opening that DigiPort, Ken."

"Yeah," Yolei agreed, "I thought we were goners for sure. Our hero."

She kissed his cheek, earning an embarrassed blush from him and chuckles from everyone else.

"It's not over yet though," Tai reminded them. "DarkMagnamon is still out there."

Davis just waved it off. "Yeah, but he's stuck in the Dark Ocean now, just like Daemon was. We destroyed the Crest of Desolation, so his plans were ruined. I say we just let him stay there and rot."

Matt shook his head. "I don't think that's going to last. DarkMagnamon is not your average Digimon. And considering the ease in which he entered that dimension, it probably won't be long before he gets out."

Ken lowered his hand from the cheek Yolei had kissed. "He's right. Even Daemon said he would have escaped from there someday."

Kari had a forewarned look on her face. "I'm more concerned about what he said before he tried to kill us." She noted their confused looks and realized that under the threat of DarkMagnamon's _Dark Magna Eruption_ attack that they may not recall exactly what he had said. "Don't you remember? He said he was going to destroy the host computer and wipe out the entire world."

A moment of silence followed. Having it pointed out to them, they did indeed remember DarkMagnamon saying that. Though what he may have been referring to was lost to them.

"That…" Tai began, "sounds really concerning. Koromon, do you know what he meant?"

The small pink Digimon frowned. "Sorry, Tai, but I have no idea." He looked at the others. "Anyone else know anything?"

The others shook their heads. It seemed that DarkMagnamon's meaning was lost to all of them.

"Well, we know one thing," Mimi pointed out, "if he destroys this host computer, whatever that is, the entire Digital World will be destroyed as well. That certainly can't be good."

In that moment, Izzy did what he always did when he needed answers; he turned to his computer. "I'll contact Gennai. He said he would be on standby so we could tell him what happened with DarkMagnamon. Hopefully he can shed some light on this."

Patamon flew up and landed on TK's head. "You know, unlike other Digimon, we were created after the Demon Lords fell, back when the Dark Masters were first beginning to take over. DarkMagnamon was sealed away before the Demon Lords were defeated, so it's possible that he was referring to something from his time."

"That is the most likely scenario," Sora replied.

A message popped up on screen, and Izzy scrolled over to click it. "Looks like we'll be getting some answers. Gennai answered right away. He must have been waiting on the other end for us to contact him."

He clicked on the message, and the image of Gennai appeared. _"Greetings, DigiDestined."_

"Hey, Gennai," Tai said to the screen. "Thanks for answering our call so quickly."

"_Well, I was anxious for some good news concerning DarkMagnamon. By the way, great job on destroying the Crest of Desolation. That's a major weight off my shoulders. But your message was concerning. Why would you ask about the host computer, and what would happen if it's destroyed?"_

"DarkMagnamon mentioned it," Cody told the screen. "He said if he couldn't resurrect his master that he would destroy the host computer."

Even on the computer screen, the change in Gennai was apparent. His eyes widened, and the color completely drained from his face. _"He… He actually… said that…?"_ When the others nodded, he seemed to become slightly hysterical. _"How? What exactly did he say?"_

"That was it?" Poromon replied. "Almost word for word; that he would destroy the host computer and wipe out the whole world."

Beads of sweat began running down Gennai's face and neck as he began pacing. _"Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad. It's even worse than if the power of the Crest of Desolation had been unleashed. This is the absolute worst case scenario."_

The others watched him pace for a short while before Tai spoke up. "Um, Gennai, you're kind of scaring us. Can you please tell us what's going on?"

Gennai stopped pacing and now appeared to be thinking. Finally, he sighed and looked at the computer screen. _"Ok, listen carefully, cause this is very important, and I'll have to start from the beginning. And when I say the beginning, I mean from the _very_ beginning, as in before the Digital World even existed."_

"Wow, that really is the beginning," said Yolei.

Davis looked rather gloomy. "I didn't know we'd be getting a whole history lesson. Is this gonna involve some sort of Adammon and Evemon?"

"_Yes!"_ Gennai snapped. _"Now be quiet and pay attention."_ He regained his composure and cleared his throat. _"The details are a little sketchy since it was from so long ago, but I'll tell you what I know. Contrary to what you may believe, though the Digital World may not be that old in accordance to the Human World time, based on the Digital World time, it's older than even the oldest of human civilizations."_

"That makes sense," said Izzy. "Before Apocalymon synchronized the time differences, one minute in the Real World was equal to a full day in the Digital World."

"_Yes, so time passed by much quicker. But according to our sources, at some point between 1984 and 1986, a group of seven highly intelligent college students that called themselves the Monster Makers ended up creating the very first digital life form."_

"Artificial intelligence?" said Joe. "I'm guessing that's what they were going for, but based on what you're saying, it looks like they ended up creating actual intelligence."

"That's actually possible?" Sora asked.

"Well, it's been done before," TK told her. "I don't know what method these Monster Makers used, but Owikawa said something about digitizing his DNA and turning into it Arukenimon and Mummymon."

"And lets not forget my friend Willis who created a Digi-Egg before that computer virus infected it and mutated it to Diaboromon," Izzy added.

Matt shivered. "Don't remind me." He looked back at Gennai. "So these Monster Makers created the very first Digimon?"

Gennai wobbled his head. _"Well, not a Digimon per say. There are other digital life forms in the Digital World besides Digimon, myself being one of them. The Monster Makers though named this life form Yggdrasil_7D6, after the mythological world tree."_

Davis snickered. "They named it after a tree?"

"_Yes, show some respect, and stay focused, because things start getting complicated here. Before these Monster Makers could take their project any further, the plug was pulled. However, the plug could not be pulled on Yggdrasil itself, for it was its own being, its own consciousness. And over the years, it grew and evolved."_

"Well," said Izzy, "it certainly had a lot of time to do that. Based on the time difference back then between the Digital World and the Real World, if this Yggdrasil was created back in 1984, then until Apocalymon synchronized the time between the two worlds, approximately 27,360 years would have gone by in the Digital World, not counting leap years. And judging by the way digital life forms progress, evolution happens much more quickly than it does in the Real World."

"_That's correct. And evolve it did. Yggdrasil became a god-like being that eventually created all other Digimon, and even the entire Digital Dimension itself."_

Ken's eyes widened. "That's… incredible. Even in its earliest stages, Yggdrasil must have been able to process countless googolplex of chamsbytes per yoctosecond."

"Far more than that," Izzy told him, "and it must be an unfathomable amount more now based on how the Digital World is today. The entire internet itself couldn't possible compare to even the smallest fraction."

Davis looked completely lost. "Um, why are we talking about biting?"

Ken pinched the bridge of his nose. "We're not. A chamsbytes is an amount of data, like a megabyte or a gigabyte, and a yoctosecond is a measurement of time. We're saying Yggdrasil was processing all that data at great speeds." He saw Davis was still confused and sighed. "I'll explain it to you later. Lets hear the rest of Gennai's story."

"_Thank you. You are correct though, Yggdrasil had become so much more than it originally was. Actually, I should say 'he' rather than 'it' since Yggdrasil took on a male persona. And that's 'he' with a capital H too. Yggdrasil had, for all intents and purposes, become the god of the Digital World. He had even taken on new name too, and became known as King Drasil. Only those that knew of him from the beginning still call him Yggdrasil. And as the god and host computer of the Digital World, he surveyed and controlled the flow of data in the Digital World._

"_But there were things that even Kind Drasil could not control. Processing so much data took, quite literally, everything out of him. He had to permanently revert to a hibernative state in order to continuously process all the data of the Digital World. He still attempted to govern the Digital World though, so he created various avatars programmed with his will act in his stead and to communicate with Digimon. Much like your god, he also and act through others to keep the peace. I told you before of the Royal Knights. They were meant to carry out King Drasil's will, as are the Digimon Sovereigns."_

"The Digimon Sovereigns?" TK repeated. "Who are they?"

"_Some of the most powerful Digimon of all. They're also known as the Harmonious Ones. Actually, you met one of them. Azulongmon is the Azure Dragon the Sovereign of the East. The others include Zhuqiaomon, the Vermillion Bird of the South, Baihumon, the White Tiger of the West, and Ebonwumon, the Black Tortoise of the North. The four of them serve the Grand Sovereign, Fanglongmon, the Yellow Dragon of the Center, who, in turn serves, Shakamon the Supreme Sovereign, who guards over the Golden Land. Out of all Digimon in the Digital World, Fanglongmon and Shakamon are the closest to King Drasil."_

Something occurred to Tai. "You said before that the Digital World chose us to be the DigiDestined. When you say the 'Digital World' chose us, do you mean King Drasil?"

Gennai nodded. _"Yes, whenever the Digital World is referred to as an entity, it is a reference to the Digimon god. It's just a shame that King Drasil never chose humans to aid us before the original DigiDestined; it probably would have saved us a lot of trouble. But you have to understand that he didn't trust humans. Not just because his creators abandoned him, and the fact that there were always others that were trying to interfere. It was also humans that created the D-Reaper."_

Kari blinked. "The what?"

"_Never mind. It was just an evil being that lived on another layer of the Digital World, but it was defeated by the DigiDestined of an alternate universe; the same universe your friend Ryo came from, Ken."_

He seemed to be losing them with his explanation, even Izzy. "This is all very fascinating, Gennai, but what's any of it have to do with the host computer that DarkMagnamon intends to destroy?"

Gennai looked surprised. _"Is it not obvious? King Drasil _is_ the host computer. It's the Digimon god, the being that processes all the data in the Digital World. If DarkMagnamon destroys him, then the entire Digital World will be destroyed as well, and all Digimon along with it. And without the host computer to process their data, they won't be reborn. They'll be permanently dead, just like any other living creature from your world."_

Tai slammed his hand down on the table. "But that's crazy! DarkMagnamon will destroy himself as well."

"It's not crazy, Tai," Izzy replied. "DarkMagnamon was created for two reasons, to serve his master, and to destroy. With MaoMyotismon out of the way, the only thing left for DarkMagnamon to do is destroy. And wiping out the host computer would be the ultimate form of destruction. But isn't it possible that King Drasil's data will also be reconfigured if he's destroyed."

Gennai sighed. _"There's really no telling what would happen. The best-case scenario would be that the entire Digital World will reset, and everything will have to start over from the beginning."_

"No matter what will happen," said Matt, "we have to stop him. Gennai, where is King Drasil?"

Gennai shook his head. _"I'm afraid going to him won't help, not that it would be easy to get there to begin with. On a separate layer of the Digital World from the one you kids go to, there is the Server Tree, which King Drasil created based off the world tree he was named after. This tree's routes connect to all the other layers of the Digital World, and its guarded by the remaining Royal Knights, and one of King Drasil's avatars."_

"You mentioned avatars before," Yolei pointed out. "What avatars? Can they help?"

"_Not really? Since King Drasil cannot act on his own, he extracted portion of his data called Homeostasis, and inserted them into cores, which were then placed inside giant robotic avatar bodies. These bodies contain the power of 9,000 Mega level Digimon, but are only limited to acting on their programming."_

"Then how about the Royal Knights," said Davis. "Couldn't they help?"

"_The Royal Knights have their own jobs to do. They serve and guard the avatar of the Server Tree. There was a case long ago where the Demon Lord, Barbamon, managed to highjack one of the avatars, and that was disastrous. Technically, all these things, the Server Tree, the Homeostasis, the avatars, they're all part of King Drasil. But his core is located in its own realm, and the Royal Knights guard it at all cost. No, the Royal Knights will remain at their posts. Besides, not all of them are still around. One of them became the Digimon partner of a human, and it's even rumored that two others are planning to go rogue and serve Lucemon, but I pray this information is false._

"_But back to what I was saying before about getting to King Drasil, it requires going through a passage in the Server Tree that only the Royal Knights know of and can open to get to another layer in the Digital World. There King Drasil sleeps, guarded over by DexDorugoramon, a powerful Mega level Digimon who will attack any and all intruders, even the Royal Knights themselves."_

"Well," said Cody, "even if all the Royal Knights aren't around anymore, it sounds like King Drasil is very well protected. Even if DarkMagnamon does know where he is, I doubt he could get passed all those guards."

"_No, that would be impossible,"_ Gennai agreed, _"even for him, and he knows that. But that's what I'm trying to tell you. He wouldn't take that route. And since it's the only way to get there, he'll take the only other option available to him."_

"What's that?" asked Leafmon.

Gennai crossed his arms. _"I mentioned before that the Digital World is made up of multiple layers. Some of them you've been to, like the Dark Ocean. In fact, that strange dimension you encountered MaloMyotismon in is actually the layer King Drasil's processing data flows through, which is why it could grant your wishes. Other layers you haven't been to, which lead to alternate universes of the Human World. With so many layers and connections, it makes the Digital World a very unbalanced place, which is why something was needed in order to anchor it."_

"The Destiny Stones!" Kari gasped.

Gennai nodded. _"Very good, Kari. Without the Destiny Stones, the balance of the Digital World becomes unstable, and the barriers between the different dimensions begins to collapse. DarkMagnamon will then be able to get to King Drasil and destroy him without having to go through the Server Tree. BlackWarGreymon destroyed all but one Destiny Stone. All DarkMagnamon has to do is destroy that last one, and he'll be able to break through the barriers between the layers of the Digital World and reach King Drasil's core."_

"But what about Azulongmon's Seeds of Light?" Cody asked. "When he planted them, he said that they would fulfill the same roles as the Destiny Stones."

"I don't think we can count on them," Izzy surmised. "Unlike stones, seeds take time to sprout and grow. And considering that Azulongmon hadn't planted them all that long ago, I don't think they've developed enough to properly replace the Destiny Stones just yet."

"_I'm afraid you're right, Izzy. They need more time, time we don't have right now if DarkMagnamon intends to destroy the last Destiny Stone. And being as evil as he is, he'll be able to sense its purity and find its location."_

"That's it then!" Davis announced. "We'll go guard the last Destiny Stone, and when DarkMagnamon arrives, we'll put him down once and for all."

"Great plan," said Joe. "So where is it?"

A few moments of silence passed as Joe's question remained unanswered.

"Um, where's what?" Davis asked.

"The Destiny Stone. You guys sent it away so BlackWarGreymon couldn't get to it. So where'd you send it?"

More silence followed as the newer DigiDestined shared questioning looks with one another. None of them had an answer.

"Gosh," said Yolei, "I guess we never really settled on a destination. We were just focused on getting it 'away' in general."

"So you're saying that it could be anywhere in the entire Digital World?" Yokomon asked. "That's not good."

Gennai cleared his throat. _"Not worry. I have someone who can help us with that." _He stepped away from the screen and seemed to look off into the distance. _"Are you there? You are, aren't you? We need your help."_

A few seconds passed before small fluttering creatures came into frame. They appeared to be butterflies of all different colors made out of fragments of light. They gathered together into a large bunch and seemed to melt into each other. When they were finished, the transparent image of a main stood beside Gennai.

"Mr. Owikawa!" Cody cried happily.

The elder man smiled, his static form flickering. _"Well, hello there, DigiDestined. It's been a while. You're looking well."_

"We're the ones that should be saying that," Davis replied. "I thought you died."

The others groaned, but Owikawa didn't seem offended and merely chuckled. _"Only my body did, but I converted my life force into energy to repair the damage done o the Digital World. I have now become a part of it. I will always be here, even if I have no physical form."_

Gennai stepped up beside him. _"And as part of the Digital World, he now knows things about it that no one besides King Drasil himself does."_

"Really?" Sora asked. "Then you can tell us where the Destiny Stone is?"

Owikawa smiled _"I can do better than that. I can open a portal for you the next time you come through that will lead you right to it."_

"Whoa!" Davis exclaimed. "You can really do that? That's awesome!" He looked at the others. "You guys ready to kick some DarkMagnamon butt?"

"Hold up, Davis," said Tai. "I really like you're enthusiasm, but you're forgetting something important."

The younger boy blinked, looking confused. "I am? What?"

"Our Digimon," Matt replied. "They're completely exhausted. Only Patamon and Salamon have managed to hold their Rookie forms. The others are either at the In-Training or Rookie level. Even if we do get to the Destiny Stone, there's no way we'll be able to defend it against DarkMagnamon."

The others looked troubled by this fact.

"I hate to admit it, but Matt's right," Sora muttered. "Confronting him now would be suicide."

They contemplated this for a bit, trying to come up with a solution. It was while he was thinking back to how all this trouble started that TK got the idea.

"There might still be a way to beat him," he said, getting the attention of the others.

"Great," said Yolei, "we're open for anything."

"What's your plan, bro?" Matt asked.

"Veemon's prophecy," he explained, "that may be the answer."

Chibomon blinked. "What prophecy? I don't have a prophecy?"

TK realized his mistake and shook his head. "Oh, no, not Veemon as in you, Veemon as in DarkMagnamon. Back when he was at the Rookie level, he said that a great catastrophe will come in the form of an evil Digimon, and only the golden one summoned by the angels could stop it."

Kari frowned. "But, TK, that prophecy was just made up. He only told us that so we would summon the golden Digi-Egg so he could extract the Digi-Egg of Disasters from it."

He gave her a smile. "True, the prophecy may have been a lie, but it could also be the answer. After all, DarkMagamon was born from Magnamon's data. He's a corrupt version of him. Who better to defeat the copy than the original?"

Gennai had to admit that it was a good theory, but he had to tell them the bad news. _"I'm sorry to say that DarkMagnamon's power greatly exceeds that of Magnamon. Myotismon saw to that when he created him. He also used the data from other Digimon as well; Magnamon's was just the primary source."_

But TK had thought of this. "That may be, but as strong as DarkMagnamon is, his power still has its limits. Don't forget that he's been fighting and using energy constantly since he Digivolved, not to mention he provided the Crest of Desolation with a bunch of energy as well, which ended up getting wasted when we destroyed it. He's got to be running out of steam by now, or at least be getting pretty tired soon. That may give us the advantage we need to beat him."

Chibomon frowned. "I'm all up for facing that guy again, but I'm not exactly at the peak of my strength either. I don't think I even have the strength to Digivolve."

Koromon hopped over to him. "That's what friends are for." He looked to the others. "If we all provide him with whatever energy we have left, he'll be strong enough to Digivolve."

"I'm all for that," said Bukamon.

"Yeah, whatever energy I still have is yours," Tanemon agreed.

Patamon nodded. "I'll give you everything I've got."

But TK shook his head. "No, not you, Patamon, or you, Salamon. We'll need the two of you to release the Digi-Egg of Miracles again. You'll need to be able to Digivolve to your Mega forms for that."

Kari looked at her Digimon worriedly. "Do you think you still have enough strength to pull it off?"

Salamon nodded. "I think so. I doubt I'll be able to hold my Mega form for long, but I think I can manage it for a short while."

"We only need a minute," Patamon reminded her. "We can last that long."

Davis grinned. "All right, we've got no time to waste. Lets get started."

Chibomon hopped into the middle of the room. The other Digimon gathered around him with the exception of Patamon, Salamon, and Leafmon, the latter already in his Baby form, and therefore having nothing left to give while the former two needed to conserve whatever strength they still had left.

Each Digimon began to glow as their energy transferred from them to Chibomon. With their remaining strength gone, they began DeDigivolving to the Baby level; Koromon to Botamon, Tsunemon to Punimon, Yokomon to Niyokimon, Tanemon to Yuramon, Motimon to Pabumon, Butamon to Pichimon, Poromon to Pururumon, and Upamon to Tsubumon.

Chibomon, on the other hand, felt his strength returning as the others' energy flowed into him. "I can feel everyone's power flowing through me. My strength is coming back. _Chibomon Digivolve to… DemiVeemon! DemiVeemon Digivolve to Veemon!"_

They all stopped glowing, the transfer of power complete. Davis grinned at his partner Digimon. "All right, now we're ready to rock."

TK turned to his fellow DigiDestined. "You guys should stay here in case the worst happens."

Yolei immediately objected. "You need at least us new DigDestined to go with you. We might need to move the Destiny Stone again. It took six of us to move it last time, so we should act under the assumption that it will take that many to move it again."

"She has a point," Cody agreed.

Tai sighed. "Unfortunately, they're right; you should all go. I wish we could go with you as well, but with our Digimon completely out of strength, I'm afraid we'd only get in the way."

Veemon gave him a thumbs up. "Not to worry. I'll keep them safe. You can count on me."

"Ok," said Davis, "we've got no time to lose. We better get going."

On the screen, Owikawa dissolved into a swarm of butterflies once more. _"I'm ready whenever you are."_

Davis held up his Digivice. "Then lets do it. DigiPort open!"

It was the familiar tunnel of pixelated light as the younger kids and their Digimon were sucked through the portal. As they fell through space and time, a swarm of butterflies suddenly surrounded them until they were traveling through a tunnel made entirely of the colorful fluttering creatures.

"Good luck to you, DigiDestined," Owikawa's voice echoed all around them. "All our hopes and prayers are with you. The fate of the Digital World is in your hands."

The ride didn't last long, and when the swarm of butterflies finally disappeared, they found themselves in a forest with a large mountain looming over them. Resting a few yards away was the last Destiny Stone. They had made it. Now all they had to do was play the waiting game.

**(A/N: Well, there you go, the origin of the Digital World, the Digimon god, and the purpose of the Destiny Stones, which was never made clear. It made sense when I thought about it, so I incorporated it in my story. I must say though, it took quite a bit of research on Yggdrasil to find out everything I did about him. Speaking of which, if you've never heard the terms googolplex, chamsbytes, and a yoctosecond, I explain it down below. But more importantly, DarkMagnamon is on his way to try and destroy the Digimon god. If you saw the movie X-Evolution, you'll know that Yggdrasil's core, once his defenses are bypassed, is pretty much helpless in his hibernative state. And the giant robot thing that appeared as the final villain in Season 5 was one of his avatars that was acting on its programming and started malfunctioning towards the end. In the manga, Barbamon actually manages to take over another avatar, as I briefly explained, but I'm not getting into that. DarkMagnamon knows how to get to the Digimon god, and all he has to do is destroy the last Destiny Stone. ****Will Magnamon be able to defeat him? You're going to have to wait to find out.)**

**SIZES OF DATA:**

**keirfabyte**

**bit** = 8 keirfabytes

**byte** = 8 bits

**kilobyte** = 1,024 bytes

**megabyte** = 1,024 kilobytes (1,048,576 bytes)

**gigabyte** = 1,024 megabytes (1,073,741,824 bytes)

**terabyte** = 1,024 gigabytes (1,099,511,627,776 bytes)

**petabyte** = 1,024 terabytes (1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes)

**exabyte** = 1,024 petabytes (1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes)

**zettabyte** = 1,024 exabytes (1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 bytes)

**yobibyte** = 1,024 zettabytes (1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 bytes)

**brontobyte** = 1,024 yobibytes (1,237,940,039,285,380,274,899,124,224 bytes)

**nisababyte** = 1,024 brontobytes (1,267,650,600,228,229,401,496,703,205,376 bytes)

**zotzabyte** = 1,024 nisababytes (1,298,074,217,633,706,907,132,624,082,305,024 bytes)

**nimcbyte** = 1,024 zotzabytes (1,329,147,995,784,915,872,903,806,660,280,344,576 bytes)

**chamsbyte** = 1,024 nimcbytes (361,047,547,681,753,853,753,498,020,127,072,845,824 bytes)

...

**MEASUREMENTS OF TIME:**

**yoctosecond** = one septillionth of a second

...

**POWERS OF 10:**

**one**

**ten**

**hundred**

**thousand**

**million** = 1 followed by 6 zeros

**billion** = 1 followed by 9 zeros

**trillion** = 1 followed by 12 zeros

**quadrillion** = 1 followed by 15 zeros

**quintillion** = 1 followed by 18 zeros

**sextillion** = 1 followed by 21 zeros

**septillionth** = 1 followed by 24 zeroes

etc.

**googol** = 1 followed by 100 zeros

**millinillion** = 1 followed by 3,003 zeros

**googolplex** = 1 followed by googol zeros

**zillion** = indefinitely large fictional number


	10. Chapter 10: Original vs Remake

**(A/N: I almost split this into two chapters, but then decided that one of them would be too short if I did. So I figured, what the heck, it's the final chapter, lets keep it lengthy. So, now we're about to answer the age-old question. What's better, the original, or the remake? Ok, so the same rules may not apply here, but I thought it'd make for an interesting chapter title. I also threw in a bit of Takari because you gotta have a bit of Takari in a Season 2 fic. So, I hope you're ready for an epic showdown, and enjoy the final chapter.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 10: Original vs. Remake**

It had been four years since they had last been here, but TK and Patamon recognized the formation of Infinity Mountain. They were back on the very island where their adventure had started. It was here that they faced Devimon, their first real enemy. And now that they were facing what could possibly be their last. The irony was not lost to them.

Only Kari and Salamon truly knew the symbolism of this place. The others were aware that the original DigiDestined had fought and defeated Devimon on File Island, they had even had Infinity Mountain mentioned to them, but none had ever been to the actual island, let alone to the mountain.

They didn't say anything about the location. There was no need to bring up such painful memories. After all, this was where Angemon had sacrificed himself to defeat Devimon, and, secretly, TK was afraid that history would repeat itself, and he would lose his partner Digimon once again. And not just him, but all his friends. If they failed to stop DarkMagnamon here and now, then the entire Digital Dimension would die.

Sensing his unease, Kari took his hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He gave her a grateful smile and squeezed it back. He would not allow this to get to him. They would beat DarkMagnamon. He had hope that they would. That was his symbol after all; hope.

And when they returned to the Real World, he decided, he would finally ask her out on a proper date.

"He's coming," Veemon said suddenly.

All heads turned to where he was looking, and they saw DarkMagnamon flying towards them. This was it; the final battle was about to begin.

"Ok, everyone get ready!" Davis cried.

They all turned to the Destiny Stone and held up their Digivices. Mimicking what they had done before, they sent beams of light at the Destiny Stone, lifting it up in the air.

DarkMagnamon arrived, his red eyes flashing furiously at the sight of the DigiDestined. "You again? I thought I killed you." His gaze landed on the floating Destiny Stone. _"Dark Magna Blast!"_

The blast of dark energy flew at the Destiny Stone. Before it could hit, the Destiny Stone sped off, disappearing upon the horizon.

DarkMagnamon stared at the sky in the direction the Destiny Stone had flown off in. He looked down at the DigiDestined and landed nearby. "You children are becoming a real nuisance to me."

"We tend to do that," Yolei replied.

"And now we're taking you down!" Davis declared.

"Really?" DarkMagnamon mocked. He glanced at their Digimon. "With three Rookies and three Babies? I think not."

"Just you wait," said Veemon. "We've still got an ace up our sleeve. _Vee Headbutt!"_

He charged at the evil Digimon and headbutted him. DarkMagnamon didn't even move as Veemon bounced right off him. He simply stared down at the smaller Digimon as Veemon rubbed his head.

"Ouch," he muttered. "Headbutting armor, not a good idea." Glaring, he jumped to his feet, turned around, and patted his rear end. "Ok, big guy, come and get me! Nah, nah!"

Almost carelessly, DarkMagnamon raised his hand and fired a blast of dark energy at him. Veemon yelped jumped away. DarkMagnamon fired another blast. And Veemon ran as the ground exploded behind him and DarkMagnamon followed.

TK looked at Kari. "Moment of truth. You ready?"

Kari nodded and glanced at their Digimon. "How about you guys?"

"Ready and willing," Salamon declared.

"Just leave it to us," Patamon added. _"Patamon __**Warp**__ Digivolve to… Seraphimon!"_

"_Salamon __**Warp**__ Digivolve to… Magnadramon!"_

The moment they Digivolved, they began the process of releasing the golden Digi-Egg as Magnadramon circling around Seraphimon. The intensity of the pink and blue lights that had begun emitting from them drew DarkMagnamon's attention from Veemon.

"What's this now?" he muttered, spotting the two Megas. "I already faced the two of you. _Dark Blaster!"_

He fired the rockets from his armor. Seraphimon and Magnadramon saw them coming, but did nothing to avoid them as they concentrated on their task.

An orb of gold light appeared in front of Seraphimon as Magnadramon passed by one last time. The rockets struck as the orb of light flew away from them. With their strength depleted, they dropped down to their Baby levels, Seraphimon to Poyomon, and Magnadramon to YukimiBotamon.

The orb of light flew over to Davis, and he caught it out of the air. "Veemon, you ready?" he cried, turning to his Digimon.

Veemon ran over to him. "Lets do it!"

"Here we go!" said Davis, holding up the Digi-Egg of Miracles. "Time to fight Armor with Armor. _Golden Armor Energize!"_

"_Veemon __**Golden Armor**__ Digivolve to… Magnamon!"_

The light faded, and the high-powered Armor Digivolution of Veemon stood in all his shining golden glory. Mirroring DarkMagnamon in appearance, his one distinct feature was his gold armor contrasting to his opposite's black armor, the Emblem of Miracles in place of DarkMagnamon's Emblem of Evil on his loin-guard.

The DigiDestined had only seen this form twice before, once when they faced Kimeramon, and once again when they faced Cherubimon, the corrupt Mega level of Kokomon when he was infected by the computer virus that had mutated Diaboromon. Looking at him now, it was easy to picture a Magnamon as one of the Royal Knights now that they knew about them.

DarkMagnamon stared at his counterpart with interest. "So this was your plan. Interesting. You're not the Magnamon of the Royal Knights, but perhaps you will prove to be enough of a challenge to keep me entertained."

"More than enough," Magnamon declared. _"Magna Blast!"_

He fired a plasma ball at him. DarkMagnamon's eyes narrowed as he kicked upwards, knocking the attack away. Magnamon chose that moment to rush towards his opponent with his fist glowing with golden light. _"Magna Punch!"_

His fist collided with DarkMagnamon's head, snapping it to the side and knocking him back. DarkMagnamon glared at him furiously before spinning around. _"Dark Kick!"_

His foot glowed black with dark energy as it slammed into Magnamon, sending him flying. DarkMagnamon sped after him, flying above his moving body. _"Dark Punch!"_

He punched downward, but his fist hit the ground as Magnamon disappeared and reappeared above him. _"Magna Blast!"_

This time it was DarkMagnamon who disappeared, moving even faster than Magnamon, and crashing into him in the air, tackling him to the ground. They skidded to a halt, and DarkMagnamon threw a punch. Magnamon moved his head to the side to dodge the blow before doing a backwards summersault to throw DarkMagnamon off him.

On his feet, he turned to his nemesis. _"Magna Bolt!"_

The golden electricity flew at DarkMagnamon, but his _Dark Barrier_ appeared around him protectively, and he charged at Magnamon, forcing his way straight through the electric attack, slamming his side into him. Magnamon flew backwards, and DarkMagnamon sent a _Dark Magna Blast_ after him, which exploded on impact.

"Magnamon!" Davis cried.

When the smoke cleared, Magnamon was not only unharmed, but was surrounded by a golden aura of his own acting as a barrier.

"Surprised?" he asked DarkMagamon. "You shouldn't be. We're equals and opposites."

"Opposites, yes," DarkMagnamon agreed, "but equals? No. We're far from equals. _Dark Blaster!"_

Rockets went flying. Magnamon flew towards the storm of missiles, his _Aura Barrier_ aiding him in knocking some of them away before they exploded against him. He threw a _Magna Punch_, but DarkMagnamon caught his fist. Then his knee came up, forcing its way through the golden barrier and hitting Magnamon in the gut where his armor, unfortunately, did not cover.

Doubling over, Magnamon's aura faded away, and DarkMagnamon's fist slammed into his face. The only thing protecting him from going flying was DarkMagnamon's hold on him.

Placing his other hand on Magnamon's shoulder, DarkMagnamon turned them around and forced Magnamon back. The two of them slammed into Infinity Mountain, the force of the impact bursting a hole straight through the rock, affectively creating a new cave. A few seconds passed where nothing happened, then the hole was blasted even larger as an explosion occurred inside the mountain.

A few moments later, both Digimon flew out of the cloud of smoke. They hovered in the air a few feet apart, staring each other down before reacting at the same time.

"_Magna Blast!"_

"_Dark Magna Blast!"_

The two attacks collided in midair and exploded as they cancelled each other out. The cloud of smoke consumed them both, and DarkMagnamon looked around for his opponent, not finding him even when the smoke cleared.

His red eyes shifted to the forest below and narrowed. "Hiding, are you? No matter, I know how to weed out vermin. _Dark Blaster!"_

Slots opened in his armor and rockets began flying out as he soared over the forest. Down below, the trees exploded and burst into flames as the missiles rained down from the sky as DarkMagnamon flew by. Digimon that had been hiding, simply hoping to avoid the battle, cried out and fled as they were caught in the crossfire, many losing their lives. DarkMagnamon didn't even spare them a second glance as they were mercilessly slaughter in his search for his opponent.

In a different location where the trees had not been obliterated by DarkMagnamon's attacks, Magnamon burst up from out of his hiding place, abandoning his plan for a sneak attack in light of his enemy's senseless destruction. "Stop it, you maniac!"

He flew at DarkMagnamon, tackling him in midair, and slammed him against the rock wall of Infinity Mountain, leaving an impression of the evil Digimon's body in the mountainside.

Kicking off the wall, he flew back a distance. _"Magna Blast!"_

It was a direct hit, yet when the smoke cleared, DarkMagnamon revealed to have gotten his _Dark Barrier_ up in time.

"Oh, come on," Magnamon grumbled, irritated that he had, as of yet, truly been able to damage his opponent.

DarkMagnamon's barrier dissipated. "What's the problem? Did you think simply because you Golden Armor Digivolved that you could easily take me?"

"Not quite," Magnamon admitted, recalling TK's plan, "but I had expected you to at least be a little tired after all the fighting you've been doing."

DarkMagnamon's eyes narrowed. "Don't compare me to you. I'm not nearly as drained as you think. I was born to fight. My power is limitless. You, however, draw your power from those pathetic humans." He glanced at the DigiDestined. "Perhaps if I dispose of them, you'll lose your power completely. _Dark Magna Blast!"_

The black plasma ball flew towards the DigiDestined. Magnamon cried out "No!" and went to intercept it, but DarkMagnamon's hand shot out and grabbed his shoulder pad, holding him back.

The DigiDestined cried out as the attack came. Their Digimon suddenly leapt in front of them and unleashed their _Bubble Blow_ attacks. DarkMagnamon's attack collided with the cloud of pink bubbles and exploded. Though they were protected from the blast, the children and their Digimon were still knocked off their feet from the shockwave.

Up in the sky, Magnamon smacked DarkMagnamon's hand away and turned to him furiously. "Leave them out of this! This is between you and me! They're not involved!"

"Oh, but they are," DarkMagnamon insisted. "The fact that they are even acquainted with those that oppose me is cause enough for me to annihilate them."

"I won't let you! _Magna Blast!"_

He fired the blast. It hit dead on, and this time DarkMagnamon had not put up his barrier. Yet he emerged from the cloud of smoke with his fist glowing black to deliver a _Dark Punch_. Magnamon put up his _Aura Barrier_, but DarkMagnamon punched right through it, causing the barrier to disperse, knocking Magnamon back.

DarkMagnamon lowered his fist, giving Magnamon a look of contempt. "I grow weary of this. You're no challenge to me. It's time to end this. _Dark Magna Eruption!"_

His most devastating attack was unleashed, the destructive sphere of dark energy bursting from his body.

"_Magna Explosion!"_

Magnamon countered with his own version of the attack, the same one that had completely obliterated the abnormally high-powered Ultimate level, Kimeramon. The black and gold spheres of energy grew in size until they slammed into each other, and finally stopped.

Bolts of black and gold danced across the giant spheres, mostly around the point of contact. From within their designated spheres, both Digimon continued to unleash their power.

"Impressive," DarkMagnamon muttered. "Perhaps you do have more power than I originally thought."

Magnamon struggled to keep up the attack. "I can't allow you to destroy everything!"

"You don't have a choice in the matter, you insignificant fool."

The black sphere grew larger, overpowering the golden one as DarkMagnamon unleashed more power. Magnamon felt his attack being overwhelmed.

"He's too strong! I can't…"

DarkMagnamon's attack finally forced its way through his own. The sky erupted in a massive explosion of black and gold flashing lights, and Magnamon dropped from the sky, battered and beaten. He crashed to the ground, eyes closed, unmoving. His friends ran over to him, but he appeared to be unconscious, not even aware that they were there.

"Magnamon, no!" Davis cried, latching onto his partner's arm. "Are you all right, buddy?"

"It's no good," Yolei observed. "He's completely out cold."

"It looks like DarkMagnamon was still too much for him," said Cody.

There was a loud _thud_ as DarkMagnamon landed behind them. "He was not even a worthy challenge. Just a waste of time."

They turned to him, fully aware of how easily he could wipe them out, yet were too overcome by anger and grief to care.

"You're a monster!" Ken accused.

"A digital one, true," DarkMagnamon agreed, "but I don't believe that's what you're referring to. But tell me, Digimon Emperor, if I'm a monster, what does that make you, who used my Digi-Egg of Disasters as a power source for your base in order to enslave all the pathetic creatures of this world?"

"Don't listen to him, Ken," Leafmon told him. "He's just a big bully trying to psyche you out."

"Yeah, and we know how to handle bullies," Tsubumon added.

"Do you now?" DarkMagnamon mocked.

"That's right!" Pururumon added. "Lets show him, guys!"

They unleashed their _Bubble Blow_ attacks. DarkMagnamon uncaringly allowed the bubbles to pop against him, showing only minor irritation when one popped in his eye.

"_Dark Blaster!"_

Having had enough, he launched his missiles at them. The bubbles intercepted them and they exploded, the shockwaves sending the Baby Digimon flying. The DigiDestined called out the names of their assigned Digimon as DarkMagnamon walked towards them.

"You should be more concerned with yourselves," he growled at them, and raised his hand for a killing blow.

The DigiDestined cringed, but were saved as a green arm wrapped around his neck when something jumped on his back. DarkMagnamon growled in aggravation as a club made from a large bone came down on his head again and again.

"Get away from them!" the assailant shouted.

The DigiDestined looked on in disbelief at the person who had come to their aid.

"Is that…?" TK muttered. "Ogremon?"

It was indeed their old enemy turned sort of friend, though he still wouldn't admit it. They hadn't seen him since the defeat of Piedmon four years ago, but here he was now, giving DarkMagnamon a much needed distraction from them.

DarkMagnamon grabbed the arm around his neck and pried it off. He tossed Ogremon away from him, and the Champion level Digimon did a flip in the air and landed on his feet.

Turning to the evil Digimon, he pointed a clawed finger at him. "Don't you touch them. If you want them, you'll have to get through me."

DarkMagnamon glared at him. "Ogremon, from what I remember, you are a servant of the darkness. Why would you help these children?"

Ogremon began to answer without thinking. "Because they're my frien- I mean… uh, they're my prey. Yeah, that's it! They're mine! I'm the only one who gets to finish them off! I got dibs. I just haven't gotten around to it yet."

DarkMagnamon simply stared at him, quite obviously not buying his excuse. Neither were the DigiDestined. Ogremon may have still fancied himself as a bad guy, but the truth was that he was far from it. At most, he was simply a troublemaker. They knew that their unofficial friend had a lot of pride and was simply trying to save face.

"In any case," Ogremon continued, "how dare _you_ come to _my_ island and start blasting it apart! I'm the ruler of this place, and you're trespassing here! Now it's time for you to pay! And if those kids just happen to get away from me again while I deal with you, then I'll just have to catch up to them later! Now, feel my wrath! _Bone Cudgel!"_

He rushed at DarkMagnamon and began hitting him all over with his bone club. DarkMagnamon simply remained where he was, letting the hits fall upon him uncaringly.

Despite Ogremon's subliminal pleas for them to flee, the DigiDestined couldn't bring themselves to leave their friend. There was also the unconscious Magnamon to worry about; they'd never be able to carry him away.

"This is such a mess," said Ken. "We're completely out of options."

"Can't someone help us?" Yolei begged. "Anyone!"

Davis looked to the sky and began talking. "Hey, King Drasil, we're working really hard to protect you and your world, but could we at least get a little help?"

It had been a completely rhetorical question, one he hadn't even expected an answer to, but whether it was purely coincidence or an actual response to his plea, something did in fact happen.

It had been cloudy over File Island this day, but at that moment, the wind blew hard enough to cause the clouds above to shift enough to allow a single sunbeam to shine down. It fell upon Poyomon and YukimiBotamon. The light caused them to open their eyes as they came out of their stunned states.

The wind blew harder, shifting the clouds even more, and the ray of light moved from shining over the two Baby Digimon, across the ground, and over to the indentation left behind from where the Destiny Stone had rested. The two Digimon shared a look and crawled over to the spot the sunbeam was shining on.

DarkMagnamon, it seemed, had grown tired of Ogremon's pathetic attacks. His hand shot out and wrapped around the ogre Digimon's throat. Ogremon's eyes bulged out of their sockets before narrowing, and he continued to bludgeon DarkMagnamon with his club, even as his air supply was cut off.

Poyomon and YukimiBotamon reached the indentation the Destiny Stone had left behind. They crawled into the imprint and felt energy flow into them. Although the Destiny Stone had been moved, a residue of its power still lingered in the spot it had rested, and the two Digimon began glowing as they absorbed the power.

They didn't Digivolve, not exactly, but holograms of their Mega forms appeared over them. Between the two holograms, an orb of golden light appeared. The holograms soon faded away, but the glowing orb still remained, and it floated over to Davis, who jumped back in surprise as it appeared in his line of vision and settled in front of him.

"Hey…" he whispered, "this is…"

The orb of light dimmed to reveal the object inside.

"That's the Digi-Egg of Destiny!" TK gasped.

And so it was. Their friend, Willis, had used it to allow his Digimon partner to Golden Armor Digivolve to Rapidmon Armor.

Davis took the second golden Digi-Egg and looked at Magnamon. "Could this work?" he wondered out loud. His eyes narrowed in determination. "Ok, here goes nothing. _Golden Armor Energize!"_

The Dig-Egg of Destiny turned into golden light and flowed over Magnamon's body. He began glowing, and his eyes immediately snapped open as he awoke. Feeling his strength returning, he rose to his feet.

"This power flowing through me…" he whispered in awe, "it's incredible! I feel like I can go on! _Magnamon Digivolve to… Magnamon X!"_

When the light of Digivolution faded, Magnamon stood transformed as the new Magnamon X. Nearly a quarter of the size taller than before with bigger muscles, his armor had changed, becoming spikier and far more elaborate with glowing green jewels on it.

The DigiDestined stared at him in awe, hardly believing what they were seeing.

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Cody declared.

"Magnamon X is awesome!" Yolei declared. "Now we still have a chance!"

"Come on," Davis whispered, "you can do it."

Magnamon X turned to DarkMagnamon. The evil Digimon was currently in the process of crushing Ogremon's head beneath his armored foot, but had shifted his attention to the new Magnamon.

"Let him go," Magnamon X ordered.

DarkMagnamon's eyes narrowed. "Let who go?" he asked, and Ogremon cried out as DarkMagnamon crushed his head beneath his foot, sending his data scattering. "You must be mistaking, there's no one else here."

Righteous fury burned in Magnamon X's eyes. "That's the last person you'll ever do harm to."

DarkMagnamon turned to him. "Is that so? I'd like to see you try to stop me."

"Wish granted!" Magnamon X declared, and sped towards him.

DarkMagnamon's eyes widened at Magnamon X's speed, right before his elbow slammed into his jaw. He stumbled back, but before he could recover, Magnamon X's fist collided with the other side of his jaw, knocking him off his feet. Before DarkMagnamon even hit the ground, Magnamon X seized his foot. Spinning him around, he threw the evil Digimon up into the air before speeding after him.

DarkMagnamon halted his momentum before whirling around to face him. _"Dark Punch!"_

Magnamon X suddenly vanished a split second before being struck. DarkMagnamon blinked in surprise before he was punched once again by Magnamon X, not even seeing the blow coming.

Shaking his head, he turned to the golden Digimon, and his eyes began glowing red. "You… _Dark Blaster!"_

Missiles shot of his armor. They exploded against Magnamon X, who didn't even flinch against the attack.

"What's this?" DarkMagnamon raged.

"My turn!" Magnamon X declared. _"Plasma Shoot!"_

He fired a plasma ball larger and more powerful than his previous form's _Magna Blast_. DarkMagnamon put up his _Dark Barrier_, but the attack still blasted him out of the sky, slamming him into Infinity Mountain. Groaning, DarkMagnamon pulled himself out of the crater, his eyes no longer glowing, the attack having knocked him out of his berserk state.

"How is this possible? Even my _Dark Barrier_ failed." He looked at Magnamon X with fire in his eyes. You can't possibly have gotten this strong!"

He sped towards him, throwing a _Dark Punch_. Magnamon X easily dodged the attack while spinning around and kicking DarkMagnamon in the back, sending him flying once again.

DarkMagnamon stopped his momentum and turned to face Magnamon X once more, shaking with fury. "This just can't be! Where did you get all this power?"

Magnamon X stared him down. "I am empowered by the golden radiance of miracles and destiny. It is my destiny to perform a miracle and take you down."

DarkMagnamon's eyes began glowing again. "Miracles and destiny? Preposterous! You can't possible be stronger than the power of disasters! I am the Great Destroyer! Now feel the power of destruction, and perish! _Dark Magna Eruption!"_

The explosion of darkness erupted once again, yet this time Magnamon X did not seem concerned with the powerful attack that had taken them down at every turn.

"_Extreme Jihad!"_ he cried.

His amplified version of _Magna Explosion_ flowed outward in a powerful energy wave. The black and gold spheres slammed into each other in a repeat of what had happened not too long ago.

From within his black sphere of energy, DarkMagnamon's glowing red eyes stared at Magnamon X inside the golden sphere of light. "You cannot defeat me! I won't let you! I'll destroy you, and everything you hold dear, along with this entire world!"

"Really?" said Magnamon X. "Well, I've got some bad news for you, pal. I'm not even at full power yet."

The golden sphere began to expand, consuming the darkness. DarkMagnamon's eyes widened in disbelief as the explosion of golden light reached him.

"Impossible!"

He bellowed loudly as his attack faded out and Magnamon X's flowed over him. Cracks appeared all over his armor, the fractures spreading rapidly under the intensity of the golden light's power. He looked at his hands as they slowly touched his cracked armor, unable to believe what he was seeing.

And suddenly, Magnamon X was there. DarkMagnamon's gasped in shock and fury as the golden Digimon's fist came flying towards him, burying in his gut where his armor did not cover.

Magnamon X's eyes burned into DarkMagnamon's as he spoke in a calm clear voice. "Be gone."

A blood-curdling roar escaped DarkMagnamon as he shouted his fury. Then his body burst into data and vanished, his reign of terror finally ended.

Magnamon X lowered his fist. His enemy had been vanquished; the Digital World was safe. It had been, perhaps, the toughest battle they had fought thus far, but it was over now. Slowly descending from the sky, he heard his friends rushing over to him, and he turned to face them.

"Magnamon X, you did it!" Davis cheered. "That was incredible! You totally kicked that guy's butt!

"It was pretty amazing," Cody agreed, holding his Digimon in his arms, the same as the others. "Right, Tsubumon?"

"Very cool," the Baby Digimon replied.

"Yeah," Magnamon X muttered, "I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?"

Yolei chuckled. "Talk about tooting your own horn."

"I think he's deserved some bragging rights," Pururumon admitted.

Magnamon X began to glow, and he DeDigivolved back down to Chibomon, who Davis caught in his arms. "Bragging rights are nice, but I'll settle for a snack and a nap."

Davis smiled at him. "Well, you certainly earned it. Chalk it up to one more victory for the good guys."

Kari frowned. "Not all of the good guys. Poor Ogremon gave up his life form us."

YukimiBotamon looked up at her. "Don't worry, Kari, he'll be back some day. But it looks like Leomon will have a four-year head start on their rivalry. But who knows, maybe this time he'll take up an alternate Digivolution route with a better nature and end up as a nicer guy."

She gave her a sad smile. "Yeah, I guess that's true. I just wish we could have done more."

TK placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's only so much we can do, Kari. But we'll always fight for what's right."

"That's right!" Davis declared. "Whenever the forces of darkness rise, we'll be there to stop them!"

Ken sighed. "There he goes again. He's got far too much enthusiasm."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Leafmon asked.

"Not necessarily in his case."

Yolei chuckled. "Come on, we should go tell the others the good news. I'm sure their eager to hear what happened."

Pururumon snuggled in her arms. "Can we sleep first?"

"I second that," said Poyomon. "I could use a vacation."

TK smiled. "I think that can be arranged. We've delivered the forces of darkness a real crippling blow. It'll be a long time before they recover from this defeat."

Cody beamed. "That's right! We didn't just get rid of DarkMagnamon, we also defeated the last Demon Lord and the ruler of the Dark Ocean."

"And we removed their ace in the hole by destroying the Crest of Desolation," Chibomon added.

"Yeah!" Davis cried. "See? No one can stop us. The darkness will never prevail over the light, not as long as there are those to oppose it." He punched the sky. "DigiDestined forever!"

The others joyfully echoed his cry. "DigiDestined forever!"

**THE END**

**(A/N: We have come to an end. I can't help but feel that after DarkMagnamon was destroyed, things became a little flat. It's a flaw in my writing that happens a lot. After the ending climax, I always struggle with how to bring the story to a close. I hope it was at least satisfactory. As for the battle, according to fanon, DarkMagnamon is stronger than Magnamon, but Magnamon X is stronger than DarkMagnamon. And was it the Digimon god that showed them the way, or was it just a coincidence? That's the question that's been always been plaguing us about things, but I'll let you decide. The important thing is that DarkMagnamon was defeated. I do wonder though, when a Digimon that's Armor Digivolved is destroyed, would happens to the Digimental? Is it permanently destroyed? Does it remain behind? Is it reborn with them? Does it rematerialize somewhere else? I'm not sure, it was never specified. In any case, I hope you enjoyed my story. I'm already working on another one. This one is going to be a sort of crossover of **_**Digimon**_** and **_**Summer Wars**_**, taking place during Season 2 again. I hope anyone that's interested will look into it. Just give me about 2 or 3 weeks. It'll be in the usual section NOT the Crossover section. Hope to see you there. For now, it's your last chance to review. Feel free to click away.)**


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